UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT   LOS  ANGELES 


m 


- 


ml- 


&    -f 

<J.  7% 


AND 


DAILY  LIFE  IN  BENGAL 


,  BY  Z.  F.  GRIFFIN 

Missionary  for  Ten  Years  in  Southern  Bengal 
and  Northern  Orissa 


PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR 

BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

1896 


COPYRIGHTED,  1896,  BY 
Z.  F.  GRIFFIN. 


PREFACE. 


IN  traveling  in  different  States  of  America  during 
the  past  two  years  as  field  secretary  of  our  Foreign 
Mission  Society,  I  have  been  asked  many  questions. 
Those  questions  suggested  this  book,  and  in  it  I 
have  tried  to  answer  them.  There  is  no  attempt 
at  rhetorical  flourishes  ;  but  plain,  practical  ques- 
tions of  every-day  life,  and  facts  in  history  and  re- 
ligion are  discussed  by  a  practical  man.  I  have 
not  tried  to  write  an  exhaustive  article  on  any  of 
the  subjects,  but  enough  is  said  to  give  the  reader 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  this  interesting  land  and  peo- 
ple. If  a  spirit  of  inquiry  is  awakened,  he  can 
find  exhaustive  treatises  on  some  of  the  subjects 
suggested.  There  are  many  well-written  histories 
of  India.  There  are  also  histories  of  mission  work 
in  India,  and  books  on  the  religion  of  the  Hindus. 
There  may  be  books  treating  on  the  daily  life  of 
this  people,  their  productions,  occupations,  char- 
acteristics, routine  of  mission  work,  etc.,  but  I 
have  not  seen  them.  All  the  books  which  I  have 
read  on  India,  take  it  for  granted  that  we  in  Amer- 

2 


4  PREFACE. 

ica  know  more  than  we  do  about  that  country. 
To  tell  the  little  things  which  others  have  not  told, 
I  have  written  this  book.  All  but  two  of  the  illus- 
trations are  from  my  own  negatives.  The  mission 
house  in  Balasore  and  the  presentation  of  a  Bible 
to  Brother  Thomas  Stacy,  by  the  native  brethren 
of  Balasore,  are  from  ' '  In  the  Path  of  Light  around 
the  World."  z,  F.  G. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. —  An  Outline  of  the  History  from  the 
Time  of  the  Rig- Veda  to  the  Beginning  of  the 
Reign  of  Queen  Victoria  as  Empress  of  India,  7 

CHAPTER  II.  —  Political  Divisions,  and  How  the 
Country  is  Governed  ....  25 

CHAPTER  III. —  Roads,  Highways,  and  Waterways,     36 
CHAPTER  IV. —  Architecture      .         .         .         .         47 

CHAPTER  V. —  Productions,  Natural  and  Other- 
wise .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  54 

X  CHAPTER  VI. —  Climate  ....         60 

CHAPTER  VII. —  Scenery  and  Sights          .         .         64 
CHAPTER  VIII.  —  Some  of  the  Pests  of  India     .          77 

CHAPTER  IX. —  Some  Characteristics  of  the  Na- 
tives .  .  .  .  •'"•]•  •  86 

CHAPTER  X. —  Occupations       .         .         .         .100 
CHAPTER  XI. —  A  Glance  at  Hinduism     .         .        132 

CHAPTER  XII.  —  An  Outline  of  the  History  of 
Protestant  Missions  .  .  .  .  .148 

CHAPTER  XIII. —  Mission  Work  and  How  Carried 

°n 155 

CHAPTER  XI\r. —  The  Prospect  for  Success       .        178 

[5] 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


MR.  AND  MRS.  Z.  F.  GRIFFIN Frontispiece 

GROUP  OF  FREE  BAPTIST  MISSIONARIES  IN  SOUTHERN 

BENGAL,  1891 . .  24 

TEMPLE  OF  JUGGERNAUT 47 

MISSION  HOUSE  IN  BALASORE 47 

TAJ  MAHAL  AT  AGRA 51 

BUILDING  A  MUD  HOUSE 51 

A  BENGAL  HINDU  VILLAGE 65 

A  GROUP  OF  ORIYA  CHRISTIAN  BIBLE  WOMEN 65 

WOMEN  HULLING  RICE 71 

BULLOCKS  TAKING  RICE  TO  MARKET 71 

HINDU  DEVOTEE 140 

JUGGERNAUT  WITH  HIS  SISTER  AND  BROTHER  ON  THEIR 

CAR 142 

PILGRIMS  GOING  TO  JUGGERNAUT 142 

A  DEVOTEE  MAKING  A  PILGRIMAGE  TO  JUGGERNAUT  BY 

PROSTRATIONS 145 

A  GROUP  OF  FREE  BAPTIST  MISSIONARIES  OF  SOUTHERN 

BENGAL,  1893 155 

A  GROUP  OF  NATIVE  PREACHERS,  ORIYA  AND  BENGALI.  .  184 
PRESENTATION  ADDRESS  OF  NATIVE  CHRISTIANS  TO  REV. 

T.  H.  STACY,  MISSION  SECRETARY 184 

[6] 


M.  D.  (HARV'D) 
HJBAI/TH 


India:  DailfttfHrfle^al 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  THE  HISTORY  FROM  THE  TIME  OF  THE 

RIG-VEDA  TO   THE    BEGINNING  OF  THE  REIGN  OF 

QUEEN  VICTORIA  AS  EMPRESS  OF  INDIA. 

THE  early  home  of  the  Aryans  was  no  doubt 
somewhere  in  Central  Asia.  In  course  of  time  the 
country  in  which  they  lived  became  too  small  for 
their  numerous  offspring,  and  adventurous  bands 
left  their  homes  in  quest  of  food  or  plunder  or 
pastures  new.  These  marauding  bands  went  in 
different  directions  farther  and  farther  from  the  old 
home  land.  Some  of  them  settled  in  Persia;  some 
of  them  founded  the  Greek  and  Italic  nations  ; 
some,  the  Celtic  and  Teutonic  races ;  and  others, 
the  Slavs  of  Europe.  Others  traveled  more  east- 
ward and  southward,  and  making  their  way  through 
mountain  passes,  settled  in  India.  Here  they 
found  rich  pastures  for  their  flocks  and  herds,  and 
fertile  land  which  they  began  to  cultivate.  But 
they  also  found  that  their  right  to  these  lands  and 
pastures  was  disputed  ;  for  others  had  possession 
of  them,  and  had  occupied  them  for  centuries  before 
the  Aryans  entered  the  Punjab.  Those  who  had 

[7] 


8  INDIA. 

possession  were  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  who 
were  by  no  means  ready  to  relinquish  their  claim. 
For  the  Aryans  to  gain  possession,  therefore,  meant 
war  and  conquest ;  but  little  by  little,  territory  was 
acquired,  and  step  by  step  the  conquerors  came 
farther  southward  and  eastward. 

It  was  while  they  were  watching  their  flocks  and 
cultivating  their  land  in  the  Punjab,  that  they  began 
the  composition  of  the  Rig- Veda.  This  contains 
the  most  ancient  records  of  the  Aryan  family,  and 
is  the  source  of  most  of  our  information  of  this 
remote  period,  extending  as  it  does  from  B.  c.  2000 
to  B.  c.  1400.  This  is  called  by  historians  the 
Vedic  Period.  This  book  is  really  hymns  addressed 
to  nature,  which  the  Aryans  worshiped  ;  but  in  the 
hymns  there  are  so  many  allusions  to  domestic  and 
social  life,  wars,  etc.,  that  they  form  a  history  of 
the  times  in  which  they  were  composed.  We  must 
bear  in  mind  that  the  hymns  were  only  composed 
and  sung  at  this  remote  period,  but  not  written. 
They  were  sung,  and  handed  down  from  father  to 
son,  probably  as  Homer  was  by  the  Greek  rhapso- 
dists.  It  was  not  until  the  following  age,  or  what 
some  historians  style  the  Epic  Age,  that  these  were 
arranged  and  compiled. 

In  the  Vedic  Age  the  Hindus  had  very  few  of 
the  customs  and  characteristics  which  they  have 
at  the  present  time.  This  was  a  patriarchal  age. 
In  their  simple  devotions  the  head  of  the  family 
was  also  the  priest  of  the  family,  and  his  home 


HISTORICAL.  9 

was  his  temple.  The  head  of  the  family  was  also 
a  warrior  as  well  as  a  cultivator  and  herdsman. 
Caste  had  not  yet  made  its  appearance  ;  girls  had 
some  choice  in  the  selection  of  their  husbands  ;  the 
cruel  custom  of  burning  the  widows  on  the  funeral 
pyre  of  the  dead  husband,  was  unknown  ;  and  wife 
and  husband  worked  together  in  social  equality. 
The  flesh  of  animals,  together  with  barley  and 
wheat,  milk  and  butter,  seems  to  have  constituted 
their  simple  diet.  There  can  be  no  time  fixed, 
upon  which  we  can  put  our  finger,  and  say,  "At 
this  date  things  began  to  change."  The  change 
was  gradual  but  sure,  for  after  six  hundred  years 
we  find  that  the  people  had  settled  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Ganges  and  Jamna  rivers,  and  were  per- 
forming pompous  and  solemn  religious  rites,  which 
sometimes,  in  the  case  of  royal  sacrifices,  lasted 
for  years.  This  period  is  called  by  historians  the 
Epic  Age.  Now  we  find  professional  priests  have 
come  on  the  stage,  who  give  discourses  on  the  texts 
of  the  Vedas,  and  who  attempt  to  explain  their 
hidden  meaning.  The  writings  of  the  Hindus 
called  the  Brahmanas  are  speculations  and  expla- 
nations concerning  the  Vedas,  by  generations  of 
priests. 

As  these  kingdoms  increased  in  territory  and 
population,  they  also  made  advancement  in  educa- 
tion and  in  the  administration  of  their  government. 
Men  duly  appointed,  collected  taxes,  administered 
justice,  and  led  armies  to  battle  either  against  the 


IO  INDIA. 

aborigines  or  against  neighboring  kingdoms  of  the 
Aryan  family.  Members  of  kings'  households 
learned  the  art  of  shooting  with  bow  and  arrow, 
and  riding  in  war  chariots,  while  priests  multi- 
plied religious  rites  and  observances.  It  was 
during  this  period  that  the  great  Hindu  epic, 
Mahabharata,  was  begun.  It  was  not  written  as 
we  have  it  now  ;  for  portions  of  it  have  been  lost, 
and  later  writers  have  attempted  to  supply  the 
deficiency,  or  alter  or  distort  the  text,  or  add  mere 
myth,  until,  as  a  historical  record  of  the  war  it 
pretends  to  describe,  it  is  considered  of  but  little 
value.  This  is  a_record  of  a  great  war  between 
two  powerful  races,  or  tribes,  called  the  Kurus  and 
the  Panchalas.  There  are  evidences  that  other 
neighboring  tribes  were  also  drawn  into  the  great 
conflict.  Though  advancement  had  been  made 
in  arts  and  sciences,  they  were  none  less  war- 
like than  their  forefathers.  Though  much  of  the 
Mahabharata  is  allegorical,  it  throws  a  great  deal  of 
light  on  the  customs  of  the  people  of  that  age.  It 
teaches  us  that  caste  was  beginning  to  assert  itself, 
but  had  not  formed  those  insurmountable  barriers 
which  later  ages  witnessed.  It  shows  that  the 
seclusion  of  women  was  not  practised,  but  that  the 
highest  in  rank  of  these  went  to  witness  the  public 
feats  in  archery  and  other  sports,  and  that  maidens 
selected  their  own  husbands.  It  also  teaches  us 
that  vice_  was  not  unknown  ;  for  Yudhesthera,  the 
oldest  of  the  Pandavas,  who  is  the  most  righteous 


HISTORICAL.  I  I 

character  in  the  epic,  and  was  well  versed  in  re- 
ligious knowledge,  after  he  came  into  possession  of 
the  kingdom,  not  only  gambled  it  away,  but  also 
staked  and  lost  himself,  his  brothers,  and  his  beau- 
tiful wife,  Draupadi. 

From  1 200  to  1000  B.  c. ,  we  find  the  Videhas, 
Kosalas,  and  Kasis  branches  of  the  Aryan  family 
inhabiting  what  is  now  known  as  North  Behar, 
Oude,  and  the  country  about  the  present  city  of 
Benares.  These  bold  races  had  pushed  through 
the  jungles,  crossed  rivers,  subdued  aboriginal 
tribes,  and  founded  strong  and  powerful  kingdoms. 
The  writing  preserved  which  throws  some  light  on 
Indian  history  of  this  period,  is  the  Ramayana. 
Like  the  Mahabharata,  scholars  claim  that  it  is 
utterly  yaluejess  as  a  history  of  any  war  ;  but  the 
side  lights  it  throws  out  are  valuable  in  showing 
th^  -PIPJS^l^-J?1^6  in  conquest,  as  also  jthe^  ele- 
vation  to  power  of  the  priestly  class. 

The  Ramayana  teaches  plainly  that  no  longer  do 
the  Kshatriya,  or  warrior  caste,  assert  their  opin- 
ions and  their  rights  to  any  great  extent  ;  but  even 
Rama,  the  hero  of  the  epic,  ' '  though  he  encounters 
and  defeats  a  Brahmin  warrior,  Parasa-rama,  does 
so  with  many  apologies  and  due  submission."  Sita, 
the  heroine  of  the  poem  and  wife  of  Rama,  though 
purely  a  mythological  character,  begins  to  tell  the 
early  tale  of  woman's  complete  and  uncomplaining 
subjugation.  Though  caste  lines  have  been  made, 
there  are  examples  where  women  have  passed  from 


12  INDIA. 

one  caste  into  another,  and  even  married  into  a 
different  caste.  Moreover,  during  this  time,  and 
up  to  the  close  of  the  epic  period,  only  three  castes 
were  recognized ;  namely,  the  Brahmin,  Kshatriya, 
and  Vaysya  ;  and  these  associated  together,  and 
ate  together,  and  felt  that  they  were  a  united 
people. 

Though  they  had  extended  their  territory  far 
down  the  Ganges  Valley  during  the  many  preced- 
ing centuries,  they  were  not  essentially  a  warlike 
people.  They  seem  to  have  inherited  the  devo- 
tional instincts  of  the  family  as  the  European  por- 
tion did  the  warlike  propensities.  They  had  made 
considerable  advance  in  education,  but  their  schools 
and  colleges  were  more  for  religious  instruction 
than  anything  else.  They  had  discovered  the  lunar 
zodiac  in  astronomy,  but  their  knowledge  in  this 
was  used  more  for  regulating  the  sacrifices  than 
for  any  scientific  purpose.  Considerable  progress 
was  made  also  in  developing  a  code  of  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  people. 

From  the  year  1000  B.  c.  to  242  B.  c.,  historians 
call  the  Rationalistic  Period.  During  these  years 
the  Aryans  conquered  many  aboriginal  tribes,  and 
extended  their  kingdom  into  Central  India  and  to 
the  Arabian  Sea  on  the  west  and  to  the  Bay  of 
Bengal  on  the  east.  This  period  seems  to  have 
been  a  practical  period,  and  all  their  writings  and 
teachings  in  religion  and  science  were  reduced  to 
the  most  concise  expressions.  The  literature  of 


HISTORICAL.  1 3 

this  period  is  called  Sutra  literature,  and  the  object 
was  to  replace  the  voluminous  writings  of  the  pre- 
vious age  by  aphorisms.  This  style  of  literature 
rapidly  spread,  and  schools  sprang  up  in  many 
places  to  teach  it.  These  Sutras  reduced  the 
lengthy  ceremonials  of  religious  rites  of  the  Vedas 
to  mere  manuals.  In  law  we  have  the  code  of 
Manu,  denning  the  duties  of  citizens,  and  in  social 
life,  the  Grihya  Sutra,  defining  the  domestic  duties. 

Grammars  also  were  written,  and  rules  for  pro- 
nunciation. In  this  they  were  in  advance  of  the 
Greeks  or  the  Romans.  The  grammar  of  Panini 
in  the  Sanskrit,  compiled  B.  c.  350,  is  still  the  foun- 
dation of  the  study  of  the  language.  The  science 
of  geometry  was  discovered  and  somewhat  devel- 
oped, and  the  philosophy  of  Kapila  is  comparable 
to  that  of  Aristotle  in  his  reasonings. 

No  one  can  read  the  literature  of  this  period,  or 
any  portion  of  it,  without  seeing  that  caste  preju- 
dices had  taken  a  terrible  hold  of  the  people,  and 
that  the  Brahmins  exercised  their  privileges  to  the 
great  humiliation  and  detriment  of  the  common 
people.  The  oppressions  prepared  the  way  for 
Buddhism.  The  people  were  anxious  to  be  freed 
from  the  galling  yoke  of  the  Brahmins,  so  that 
when  Prince  Gotama,  the  founder  of  Buddhism, 
announced  his  principles  with  regard  to  the  brother- 
hood of  man,  they  were  hailed  with  joy.  Though 
the  Brahmins  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  spread 
of  Buddhism,  and  though  the  people  seemed  to  flock 


14  INDIA. 

so  around  the  standard  of  Buddha,  it  was  three 
centuries  after  his  death,  which  occurred  B.  c.  447, 
before  Asoka,  the  greatest  of  India's  emperors,  de- 
clared it  to  be  the  religion  of  the  state.  Such  was 
the  hold  that  Hinduism  had  upon  the  people.  If 
it  took  Buddhism,  which  had  much  in  common  with 
Hinduism,  three  centuries  to  convert  the  people, 
where  is  the  ground  for  discouragement  in  Christian 
missions  ? 

Hitherto  all  the  light  that  has  been  thrown  on 
Indian  history  is  gathered  from  the  writings  of  the 
Hindus,  which  are  mostly  of  a  religious  nature  ;  but 
toward  the  close  of  this  period,  India  began  to 
come  in  contact  with  portions  of  the  family  which 
had,  many  centuries  before,  drifted  westward. 
Herodotus,  the  Greek  historian  who  lived  between 
400  and  500  B.  c. ,  speaks  of  the  Hindus  as  the 
greatest  nation  of  the  ages. 

The  same  writer  tells  us  that  Darius  the  Persian 
subjugated  a  portion  of  India,  and  that  his  ships 
sailed  down  the  Indus  to  the  sea.  Later,  Magas-^ 
thenes,  a  Greek,  in  the  fourth  century  B.  c. ,  came 
to  India,  and  lived  with  one  of  the  kings,  and  wrote 
of  its  civilization  and  conquests.  These  writings 
show  that  all  of  India,  except  some  of  the  deserts 
and  some  of  the  mountain  fastnesses,  had  been 
conquered,  and  the  aboriginal  tribes  either  subju- 
gated and  Hinduized  or  else  driven  back  into  these 
barren  places  and  mountain  retreats. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  period  other  important 


HISTORICAL.  1 5 

events  were  transpiring,  among  which  was  the  in- 
vasion of  the  country  by  Alexander  the  Great.  He 
entered  India  327  B.  c.,  and  had  it  not  been  for 
the  intense  heat  of  the  summer  and  the  southwest 
monsoon,  he  might  have  marched  his  conquering 
armies  through  the  whole  length  of  India.  It  was 
not  because  there  were  no  native  armies  to  oppose 
him,  but  because  the  native  kings  were  jealous  of 
each  other,  and  often  would  rather  espouse  the 
cause  of  Alexander,  if  a  local  enemy  could  thereby 
be  humbled,  than  unitedly  to  oppose  him  and  save 
their  country.  But  the  heat  was  a  more  powerful 
enemy  than  the  Indian  armies,  and  Alexander  re- 
solved to  withdraw  from*  the  country.  He  con- 
structed a  fleet  upon  which  part  of  the  army  sailed 
down  the  Indus,  and  thence  up  the  Persian  Gulf ; 
and  part  went  overland,  through  Beluchistan  and 
Persia.  He  founded  some  cities  during  his  brief 
stay,  of  which  the  present  city  of  Haidarabad  is 
one.  Later,  other  marauding  Greek  bands  came 
into  the  country,  and  as  far  south  as  Oude,  but 
established  no  kingdoms. 

Internal  dissensions  were  rife  in  this  period, 
and  there  were  frequent  changes  of  dynasties. 
This  condition  made  the  inhabitants  an  easy  prey 
to  any  strong,  warlike,  and  united  people.  From 
the  west  such  a  host  was  coming  in  upon  them. 
In  the  year  126  B.  c.  the  Cythian,  or  Tartar,  tribe  ^M 
came  down  through  the  mountain  passes  of  the 
northwest,  and  established  a  foothold  in  the  Punjab. 


1 6  INDIA. 

They  came  to  stay  and  to  extend  their  territory, 
and  it  is  recorded  of  one  of  their  kings,  Kanishka, 
that  he  extended  his  kingdom  as  far  south  as  Agra. 
Valliant  kings  arose  in  India  to  repel  and  expel 
these  northern  hordes;  and  the  struggles  were  long, 
and  the  results  various.  In  the  year  515  A.  D.  ,  the 
great  Hindu  king,  Vikramaditya,  arose  and  regained 
possession  of  the  greater  part  of  India,  and  estab- 
lished peace,  which  lasted  for  two  centuries.  This 
was  also  the  period  in  which  the  Pauranas,  one  of 
the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus,  was  written,  and  it 
also  witnessed  the  rapid  decline  of  Buddhism.  In 
the  eighth  century  A.  D.  the  Rajput,  who  had 
hitherto  scarcely  been  reckoned  to  be  within  the 
pale  of  the  Aryan  Hindus,  rose  to  power. 

The  founder  of  this  dynasty  was  a  brave  general 
in  Gujarat,  Senapati  Bhalarka  by  name,  who  de- 
clared his  independence,  and,  carrying  the  banner 
of  Puranick  Hinduism,  established  Brahmin  su- 
premacy everywhere  in  India.  In  the  twelfth 
century  A.  D.,  India  was  ruled  by  three  Rajput 
kings,  —  Prothu  Rai  Chohan  at  Delhi  and  Ajmir  ; 
Jaya  Chandra  Rathore  was  king  of  Kanauj,  Alla- 
habad, Oude,  and  Benares ;  and  Bhima  Deva  was 
ruler  of  Gujarat  and  Central  India. 

But  the  days  of  the  brave  Rajputs,  who  had 
ruled  India  for  nearly  four  centuries,  were  numbered. 
Shahabuddin  Ghori,  a  Mohammedan  conqueror, 
entered  India  A.  D.  1191,  and  led  his  victorious 
armies  through  the  country.  The  Rajputs,  after 


HISTORICAL.  I/ 

making  a  brave  but  unsuccessful  attempt  to  save 
their  kingdom,  returned  to  Rajputana,  leaving  the 
Mohammedans  the  undisputed  possessors  of  the 
country.  Shahabuddin  Ghori  was  a  practical  ruler, 
and  at  once  set  about  the  task  of  thoroughly  or- 
ganizing his  kingdom.  The  name  of  Ghori's  Indian 
viceroy  was  Kutub-ud-din,  who,  upon  the  death  of 
his  sovereign,  established  a  new  dynasty  called  the 
Slave  dynasty  from  the  fact  that  Kutub-ud-din 
was  once  a  Turkish  slave.  The  great  minaret 
twelve  miles  from  Delhi,  which  is  one  of  the  won- 
ders of  the  world,  was  erected  in  memory  of  Kutub- 
ud-din. 

Other  Mohammedan  dynasties  followed  as  they 
could  by  intrigue  or  power  gain  the  ascendency. 
In  1398  the  great  Tartar  general,  Tamerlane, 
swept  over  the  country,  devastating  cities  and 
murdering  the  people  ;  but  when  satiated  with 
blood,  he  retired  toward  Central  Asia. 

In  1526  A.  D. ,  Baber  entered  the  country,  and 
established  the  Mogul  dynasty.  The  country  was 
divided  into  many  petty  kingdoms,  ruled  both  by 
Hindu  princes  and  Mohammedan  kings.  Baber 
was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Tamerlane,  and,  like 
him,  was  fierce  and  warlike,  and  took  delight  in 
the  task  before  him.  As  Shahabuddin  had  done 
centuries  before,  so  he  now  went  from  one  victory 
to  another,  until  at  his  death,  which  occurred  1530 
A.  D.,  he  held  possession  of  India  as  far  as  Behar 
in  the  eastern  valley  of  the  Ganges.  His  son,  who 


1 8  INDIA. 

succeeded  him,  was  not  able  fully  to  hold  together 
the  kingdom,  on  account  of  family  dissensions ; 
but  his  grandson,  Akbar  the  Great,  who  began  to 
reign  1556  A.  D.,  thoroughly  established  the  Mogul 
empire. 

Of  the  work  of  Akbar  and  his  successors,  we  have 
no  time  to  speak.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  finest 
architecture  of  India  belongs  to  this  period.  The 
palace  of  Delhi,  with  the  peacock  throne,  was  built 
by  one  of  these  kings,  and  also  the  Taj  Mahal  at 
Agra.  This  latter  is  the  architectural  gem  of  the 
world,  and  was  built  by  Shah  Jehan  in  honor  of 
his  wife,  Mumtazi  Mahal,  whose  tomb  it  is.  Au- 
rangzeb  was  the  last  of  the  Mogul  kings  who  ruled 
with  any  force  or  independence  of  character,  and 
the  empire  began  gradually  to  crumble  after  his 
death. 

The  rising  of  the  Sikhs  and  Mahrattas  among 
the  Hindus,  and  the  appalling  depredations  of  the 
Afghans,  as  they  made  six  successive  invasions, 
were  the  direct  causes  which  contributed  to  the 
fall  of  the  Mogul  empire.  It  may  be  said  to  have 
disappeared,  so  far  as  exerting  any  influence  on  the 
country,  in  1765  ;  though  for  nearly  another  cen- 
tury they  kept  up  an  appearance  of  sovereignty. 
Mahamed  Bahadur  Shah,  the  seventeenth  Mogul 
emperor,  and  last  of  the  race  of  Timur,  for  his 
complicity  in  the  mutiny  of  1857,  was  banished  to 
Rangoon,  where  he  died  in  1862. 

In  the  meantime  Great  Britian  appeared  on  the 


HISTORICAL.  1 9 

field,  and  taking  advantage  of,  or  pity  on,  the  utter 
chaotic  condition  of  the  country,  began  to  establish 
a  foothold  with  a  view  of  becoming  a  nation  in 
India.  The  English  had  long  been  in  India  as 
traders,  under  the  name  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany. This  company  was  organized  in  1600  A.  D.  , 
v/ith  a  capital  of  ^"70,000,  and  had  purchased  some 
possessions  in  the  vicinity  of  Bombay,  Madras,  and 
Calcutta,  and  had  opened  up  many  trading-points 
here  and  there.  The  whole  of  Calcutta,  with  the 
surrounding  country,  was  purchased  from  the  vice- 
roy of  Bengal.  He  sold  his  valuable  territory  in 
order  to  get  money  to  carry  out  his  scheme  for 
the  succession  of  the  Mogul  empire.  The  present 
Fort  William,  one  of  the  largest  forts  in  the 
world,  was  begun  in  1707,  Fort  Saint  David,  on 
the  Coromandel  Coast,  had  also  been  erected. 
With  money,  a  few  strong  forts,  and  a  few  brave 
soldiers,  the  English  were  in  a  position  to  take 
advantage  of  the  conditions  as  above  described. 
It  is  not  the  object  of  this  brief  narrative  to 
give  a  detailed  account  of  the  history  of  the  rise  of 
the  English  in  India.  There  are  many  well-written 
histories  on  this  subject,  and  they  may  be  found 
in  almost  any  bookstore.  A  few  leading  facts  will, 
however,  be  in  place.  The  French  had,  in  some 
places,  and  the  Portuguese  in  others,  established 
themselves.  The  Mahrattas  and  the  Sikhs  were  at 
war  with  the  Moguls,  and  other  internal  wars  also 
prevailed. 


2O  INDIA. 

During  part  of  this  time,  France  and  England 
were  fighting,  which  necessarily  involved  their  India 
possessions.  It  soon  became  known  that  English 
soldiers  were  good  fighters,  so  the  East  India  Com- 
pany was  often  appealed  to  for  help  by  one  or  the 
other  of  the  many  contending  parties.  At  the  close 
of  nearly  all  these  contentions  and  battles,  favor- 
able treaties  for  the  English  were  entered  into,  and 
new  territory  was  acquired.  After  the  Company 
had  secured  a  strong  foothold,  the  settled  policy  was 
to  acquire  new  territory  as  fast  as  possible.  The 
history  of  the  conquest  of  Bengal,  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  Lord  Clive  ;  of  Warren  Hastings  and  his 
operations  ;  the  first  Mahratta  war,  and  the  war 
with  Mysore ;  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  the  second 
Mysore  war;  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  and  his 
settled  policy  of  making  the  English  the  one  para- 
mount power  in  India,  and  his  third  Mysore  war 
and  second  Mahratta  war ;  and  the  great  acquisi- 
tions of  territory  under  these  administrations, — these 
make  very  interesting  reading,  and  may  be  found 
fully  treated  in  Hugh  Murray's  history  of  India,  or 
in  that  of  James  Grant,  or  in  any  other  standard 
work.  The  further  conquests  of  Lord  Minto,  and 
his  consolidation  of  the  conquests  of  Wellesley  ; 
Lord  Moira,  and  his  war  with  Nepaul,  by  which  the 
hill  stations  of  Naini  Tal,  Mussourie,  and  Simla 
were  acquired  from  the  brave  and  warlike  Gurkhas; 
the  war  in  Central  India  with  the  Pendaris  ;  and 
the  last  Mahratta  war, —  form  interesting  chapters. 


HISTORICAL.  21 

Following  these  eventful  times  was  the  first  Bur- 
mese war,  1824-26,  by  which  Assam  and  other 
portions  of  the  northeast,  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  English.  During  the  time  of  Lord  Bentinck, 
sati,  or  the  burning  of  the  live  widow  on  the  fu- 
neral pyre  with  the  dead  body  of  her  husband,  was 
prohibited  and  done  away  with.  In  connection 
with  this  we  may  see  the  elasticity  of  the  con- 
science of  the  Hindu.  When  the  order  was  passed 
prohibiting  this  most  inhuman  practise,  a  deputa- 
tion of  Brahmins  waited  on  the  viceroy,  and  told 
him  that  their  consciences  told  them  that  sati  was 
the  right  thing  for  them  to  practise.  Lord  Ben- 
tinck replied,  "Very  well,  follow  the  dictates  of 
your  conscience  ;  but  the  Englishman's  conscience 
tells  him  'that  whoever  aids  or  abets  in  murder, 
shall  be  hanged.  You  burn  your  widows  according 
to  your  conscience,  and  we  will  hang  you  accord- 
ing to  ours. "  Suffice  it  to  say,  no  Brahmins  were 
hanged  for  conscience'  sake. 

Soon  after  the  acquisition  of  Assam,  came  the 
Afghan  war,  which  resulted  in  the  utter  defeat  of 
the  English,  and  in  which  four  thousand  fighting 
men  and  twelve  thousand  camp-followers  perished 
either  in  the  snowy  defiles  of  Kurd  Kabul,  or  from 
the  knives  and  guns  of  the  treacherous  Afghans. 
The  first  Sikh  war  gave  Lahore  to  the  British,  and 
under  the  admininistration  of  Lord  Dalhousie, 
Oude,  Nagpore,  and  parts  of  the  Punjab  and 
Burma,  and  other  possessions  were  annexed.  Lord 


22  INDIA. 

Dalhousie  turned  the  sod  for  the  first  railroad,  and 
established  in  certain  parts  of  the  country  tele- 
graphic communication. 

The  next  important  event  in  the  history  of  India 
is  the  terrible  mutiny  of  1857.  The  causes  of  this 
wide-spread  disaffection  have  been  discussed  time 
and  again.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  or 
causes,  the  direct  occasion  was  the  introduction  of 
the  Enfield  rifles  and  the  greased  cartridges  to  be 
used  with  them.  It  was  rumored  among  the  sepoys 
(native  soldiers),  who  were  both  Hindus  and  Mo- 
hammedans, that  the  grease  used  in  these  cartridges 
was  made  from  the  tallow  of  the  cow  and  the  fat  of 
the  hog.  The  hog  is  unclean  to  the  Mohammedan, 
and  the  cow  is  sacred  to  the  Hindu,  so  that  report 
was  a  sharp  two-edged  sword  which  cut  both  ways. 
It  is  probable  the  real  cause  of  the  disaffection  lay 
in  the  fact  that  the  people  saw  that  Western  ideas 
and  ways  were  creeping  into  the  country,  and  that 
in  time,  unless  something  was  done  to  check  it, 
their  ancient  customs  and  religion  would  be  over- 
thrown. 

The  first  overt  mutinous  act  occurred  February 
25,  at  Berhampore,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  miles 
north  of  Calcutta.  This  act  was  the  iQth  Bengal 
Native  Infantry's  refusing  to  accept  the  cartridges. 
Soon  the  blood  of  an  English  officer  was  shed, 
which  was  the  signal  for  the  lighting,  so  to  speak, 
of  the  fires  of  war  on  every  hilltop.  By  May  this 
spirit  of  rebellion  had  become  so  extensive  and  so 


HISTORICAL.  23 

rampant  that  every  Englishman  in  India  felt  pre- 
pared for  any  news.  It  came  from  Merut  and  told 
of  the  burning  of  the  English  quarters,  and  the 
massacreing  of  men,  women,  and  children  by  the 
sepoys.  From  Merut  they  went  to  Delhi,  only 
twelve  miles  away. 

But  why  attempt  to  tell  of  the  terrible  carnage 
of  that  year  ?  Delhi,  Lucknow,  and  Cawnpore  are 
almost  synonyms  for  all  that  is  brave,  and  true, 
and  suffering  on  the  part  of  the  English,  men, 
women,  and  children  ;  and  all  that  is  cowardly, 
treacherous,  and  savage  on  the  part  of  the  sepoys. 
Taking  into  account  the  character  of  the  combat- 
ants and  those  connected  with  them,  and  the  ter- 
rible odds  against  the  English,  there  has  probably 
been  no  event  in  the  history  of  any  nation,  of 
more  thrilling  interest  than  the  sepoy  mutiny  of 
1857.  Though  Delhi  fell,  it  was  retaken;  though 
sixty  thousand  sepoys  surrounded  the  Residency  at 
Lucknow,  it  was  relieved  by  five  thousand  British 
soldiers  ;  though  Cawnpore  had  witnessed  the  most 
terrible  butchery  of  innocent  women  and  children 
ever  recorded,  and  had  come  fully  into  the  hands 
of  the  rebels,  it  was  not  long  held.  Town  after 
town  was  reoccupied,  which  had  been  taken  by  the 
mutineers,  and  fort  after  fort  was  stormed,  until  in 
January,  1859,  the  echo  of  the  last  gun  died  away, 
and  the  last  fugitive  was  chased  across  the  frontier. 

On  the  first  of  November,  1858,  at  a  grand  dur- 
bar held  in  Allahabad,  Lord  Canning,  the  viceroy 


24  INDIA. 

of  India,  sent  forth  the  royal  proclamation,  that 
the  queen  of  England  had  assumed  the  government 
of  India.  Thus  was  brought  to  a  close  the  history 
and  existence  of  the  East  India  Company,  the 
greatest  commercial  and  military  company  that 
ever  existed  ;  and  thus  began  the  reign  of  Queen 
Victoria  as  empress  of  India.  Religious  neutrality 
and  justice  have  been  the  guiding  principles  of  the 
queen  ;  and  in  no  time  since  the  age  of  the  Rig- 
Veda,  have  the  people  of  India  been  so  secure  in 
the  possession  of  their  property  and  their  civil 
rights  and  religious  privileges  as  to-day. 

In  these  pages  I  have  tried  to  give  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  events  of  the  centuries,  the  knowledge 
of  which  will,  I  trust,  give  us  a  better  idea  of  the 
people,  the  country,  and  the  problems  before  us  as 
Christian  workers? 


a  a  g  o 
5  o  z  Bt 


CHAPTER  II. 

POLITICAL    DIVISIONS   AND   HOW   THE    COUNTRY 
IS    GOVERNED. 

INDIA  may  be  said  to  be  divided  politically  into 
five  divisions:  I.  The  Portuguese  have  two  or 
three  possessions.  2.  The  French  have  a  portion, 
and  a  little  more  than  the  Portuguese.  3.  There 
are  two  independent  states  in  the  northern  part, 
Nepaul  and  Bhutan.  4.  There  are  one  hundred 
and  sixty  native  protected  states,  which  embrace 
one  third  of  all  the  territory  of  India.  These  are 
ruled  by  native  kings  who  have  with  them,  usually 
at  their  capital,  a  British  resident.  The  work  of 
the  latter  is  to  look  after  British  interests,  and  to 
advise  with  the  king  on  all  important  subjects.  5. 
There  are  five  provinces,  which  embrace  the  most 
fertile  parts  of  India,  directly  under  British  rule. 
They  contain  about  one  million  square  miles  of 
territory,  and  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
million  people.  These  five  provinces  are  the  Pun- 
jab farthest  to  the  northwest,  next  the  Northwest- 
ern Provinces  and  Oude,  then  Bengal,  Madras,  and 
Bombay. 

The  Punjab  has  a  lieutenant-governor  as  the 
highest  resident  official.  This  is  also  true  of  the 
Northwestern  Provinces  and  Oude.  Bengal  has 

[25] 


26  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

a  lieutenant-governor  and  a  legislative  council. 
Madras  has  a  governor  and  two  councils,  which  is 
also  true  of  the  Bombay  Presidency.  Aside  from 
these  five  principal  divisions,  certain  provinces  are 
governed  by  Chief  Commissioners,  as  are  also  the 
Central  Provinces,  —  Assam,  Berar,  Ajmir,  and 
Coorg.  Below  governors,  lieutenant-governors, 
and  chief  commissioners,  are  commissioners.  Prov- 
inces are  divided  into  districts,  and  these  commis- 
sioners have  supervision  over  a  certain  number  of 
districts ;  e.  g. ,  Bengal  contains  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  square  miles,  and  has  seventy 
million  people.  There  are  forty-five  districts  in 
this  province,  and  nine  commissioners,  giving  to 
each  an  average  of  five  districts,  though  all  do  not 
have  the  same  extent  of  territory.  The  commis- 
sioner exercises  supervision  over  the  magistrate  and 
collector,  and  periodically  inspects  their  offices. 
At  the  head  of  each  district  is  a  magistrate  and 
collector,  who  is  virtually  king  under  certain  re- 
strictions. A  district  of  the  average  size  in  Bengal 
is  thirty-six  hundred  square  miles,  or  nearly  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  contains 
more  than  twice  as  many  people  as  there  are  in 
Connecticut.  Districts  vary  in  size.  Midnapore 
has  a  population  of  two  and  one-half  million ; 
Balasore  has  a  population  of  one  million. 

The  duties  of  the  magistrate  and  collector  are 
various.  He  is  supposed  to  exercise  a  paternal  care 
over  the  people.  He  must  travel  throughout  his 


POLITICAL    DIVISIONS.  2/ 

district  ninety  days  each  year,  to  find  out  just  what 
is  needed.  He  must  look  over  the  roads,  visit  the 
hospitals  and  schools,  examine  the  crops,  see  if 
sanitation  is  observed,  provide  supplies  of  rice  and 
drinking-water  if  there  be  a  failure,  look  after  the 
settlement  or  remeasurement  of  lands,  which  takes 
place  once  in  twenty  years,  sometimes  settle  dis- 
putes between  large  landholders,  receive  distin- 
guished visitors,  inspect  liquor,  and  opium,  and 
gunja  shops,  etc. ,  etc.  He  is  also  chairman  of  the 
District  Board,  and  must  sign  nearly  every  docu- 
ment. He  has  many  cases  to  decide  in  court,  and 
sometimes  acts  as  an  arbitrator. 

Districts  are  subdivided.  In  Bengal,  for  exam- 
ple, there  are  eighty-one  subdivisions.  At  the 
head  of  each  of  these  is  a  deputy  magistrate  and 
collector,  called  also  a  subdivisional  officer.  He  is 
subject  to  the  magistrate-collector  and  refers  mat- 
ters to  him  when  necessary.  These  are  again 
subdivided  into  what  are  called  thannahs.  The 
thannah  is  the  unit  in  the  governmental  and 
political  arrangement.  The  whole  arrangement  is 
a  wheel  within  a  wheel,  and  yet  the  clock  runs 
well,  and  keeps  good  time. 

In  each  district  there  is  a  kutchery  (court-house) 
town.  In  this  town  the  officers  of  the  district 
usually  reside,  and  here  is  where  the  treasury 
is  found.  Here  are  many  lawyers,  and  here  is 
where  the  people  come  to  settle  their  grievances. 
In  an  ordinary  kutchery  town,  one  will  usually  find 


28  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

these  officers:  i.  Magistrate  and  collector.  2. 
Civil  surgeon.  This  officer  gets  a  fixed  salary  to 
attend  to  the  bodily  ailments  of  the  civil  servants 
of  the  government.  He  is  at  liberty  to  have  also 
an  outside  practise.  3.  Superintendent  of  public 
works.  This  officer  has  general  supervision  of 
canals,  roads,  and  public  buildings.  4.  Superin- 
tendent of  police.  His  duties  are  to  inspect  the 
different  police  stations,  and  keep  the  police  de- 
partment in  running  order  as  nearly  as  possible. 
If  the  district  be  a  large  one,  there  is  also  likely  to 
be  some  officers  in  the  judicial  line,  as  a  judge 
and  a  joint  magistrate.  There  may  be  also  a 
superintendent  of  jails.  As  a  rule  these  officials 
are  friendly  to  missionaries,  and  invite  them  occa- 
sionally to  dine  with  them. 

The  officials  mentioned  are  what  are  called  ' '  soci- 
ety people,"  and  missionaries  are  regarded  as  being 
on  a  social  equality  with  them.  The  wives  of  these 
officials  may  also  be  in  the  town,  but  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  some,  if  not  all  of  them,  are  in 
England.  All  of  these  offices  may  be  filled  by  na- 
tives, and  usually  some  natives  are  found  filling 
them.  Aside  from  these  society  people,  there  are 
some  lower  caste  people  filling  minor  positions,  as 
in  the  post-office  and  telegraph  office.  Quite  often 
these  are  filled  by  Eurasians,1  and  sometimes  by 
natives.  There  is  also  belonging  to  this  class  a 
district  engineer,  a  police  inspector,  a  deputy  in- 

1  Part  European  and  part  native. 


POLITICAL    DIVISIONS.  29 

spector  of  schools,  and  one  or  more  salt  inspectors. 
Every  officer  gets  a  mileage  for  traveling,  so  many 
of  this  latter  class,  who  spend  much  of  their  time 
in  going  from  place  to  place  through  their  district, 
add  largely  to  their  income.  Indeed,  it  is  their 
duty  to  do  this  kind  of  work,  so  they  are  seldom 
found  in  the  stations. 

Almost  every  night  of  the  year  the  Europeans 
in  government  service  meet  together,  either  at  the 
club  house,  or  in  some  private  house.  The  time 
before  dark  is  spent  in  tennis  and  conversation, 
and  after  dark  with  music  and  often  dancing.  Most 
Englishmen  think  ' '  pegging "  a  necessity,  and 
many  indulge  to  excess.  One  of  the  saddest  sights 
to  be  seen  in  India,  is  so  many  fine-looking  young 
Englishmen  going  down  to  premature  graves 
through  drink.  This  last  remark  has  no  relation 
to  the  government  of  India,  and  yet  is  true  with 
respect  to  many  government  officials. 

Another  officer  who  is  always  to  be  found  in  a 
kutchery  town  is  a  munsiff.  He  is  in  the  judicial 
line,  and  tries  cases  of  a  civil  nature.  The  Hindus 
are  very  fond  of  lawing,  and  therefore  this  officer 
is  a  hard-worked  man.  His  court-room  is  open 
every  day  in  the  year,  except  on  legal  holidays,  and 
he  seldom  or  never  gets  his  cases  all  off  the  docket. 
There  are  also  officers  who  look  after  the  revenue. 
The  collector  is  at  the  head  of  this  department, 
and  he  has  with  him  quite  a  staff  as  inspectors  and 
clerks. 


3O  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

Perhaps  there  will  be  no  better  place  than  this 
to  make  a  few  remarks  upon  this  question.  The 
revenue  of  India  is  about  $375,000,000  annually, 
and  is  derived  from  the  following  sources  :  Opium 
shipped  to  China,  $32,500,000;  opium  consumed 
in  India,  $17,500,000;  tax  on  salt,  $37,000,000; 
stamps,  $16,000,000;  liquor,  $21,300,000;  land 
tax,  $110,000,000.  The  balance  is  made  up  from 
the  earnings  of  the  railroads,  post-offices,  forest, 
income  tax,  and  duties  on  a  few  imports,  such  as 
fire-arms,  etc.  Some  may  be  curious  to  know  how 
salt  is  taxed.  It  is  simply  in  this  way  :  For  every 
pound  of  salt  which  is  imported  from  England, 
mined  in  the  country,  or  evaporated  from  sea 
water,  the  government  requires  a  certain  revenue. 
There  are  many  places  in  Orissa  where  salt  water 
oozes  up  from  the  ground,  and  is  evaporated  by 
the  sun,  leaving  deposits  of  salt.  It  is  the  duty  of 
the  salt  inspectors  to  see  that  none  of  this  salt  is 
gathered  by  the  poor  people,  and  to  see  that  no 
sea  water  is  evaporated  unlawfully.  The  revenue 
from  liquor  and  opium  consumed  by  the  people  of 
India,  amounts  to  nearly  $40,000,000  annually. 
The  policy  of  the  government  in  fostering  these 
industries,  if  we  may  call  them  industries,  is  to 
increase  the  sale  rather  than  to  diminish  it.  If  the 
government  would  put  her  machinery  as  vigorously 
at  work  to  repress  these  evils,  as  she  does  to  pro- 
hibit the  illicit  making  of  salt,  no  doubt  drinking 
and  opium-eating  could  well-nigh  be  abolished. 


POLITICAL   DIVISIONS.  31 

We  have  been  talking  about  the  government  and 
the  presidencies  of  the  district,  but  this  does  not 
cover  all  the  ground.  At  the  head  of  all  this  com- 
plicated machinery  of  government,  is  the  viceroy. 
This  officer  was  called  a  governor-general  under 
the  East  India  Company.  He  is  appointed  by  the 
queen  of  England  as  her  representative  ;  and  he, 
with  his  council,  is  the  highest  legislative  power  in 
India.  His  council  has  two  departments,  —  execu- 
tive and  legislative.  The  former  has  six  members, 
and  the  latter  from  twelve  to  eighteen.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  legislative  council  include  the  executive 
council.  He  is  a  lord  or  a  marquis,  and  is  gen- 
erally a  fair-minded  and  capable  man.  His  winter 
home  is  in  Calcutta,  and  his  summer  home  in  Simla, 
a  beautiful  hill  station  north,  up  in  the  Himalaya 
mountains.  It  is  an  event  in  Calcutta  when  the 
viceroy  and  his  retinue  return  there,  about  Decem- 
ber i  ;  and  it  is  also  an  event  in  Simla  when  they 
arrive  there,  early  in  the  spring.  He  is  a  well- 
paid  officer,  and  has  the  satisfaction  of  living  in 
the  finest  climate  in  the  world  the  year  through. 
But  his  responsibilities  are  great ;  for  in  a  measure 
the  interests  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  million 
people  are  committed  to  him.  He  must  be  a  man 
of  great  diplomatic  ability  ;  for  there  are  wars  of 
greater  or  less  magnitude  a  good  deal  of  the  time, 
and  conquered  states  or  countries  must  be  recon- 
structed. 

In  his  winter  tours  he  must  meet  many  of  the 


32  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

kings  of  the  protected  states.  In  their  great  dur- 
bars, or  public  assemblies,  he  must  listen  to  their 
speeches  and  requests,  and  reply  so  as  not  to  give 
offense  nor  in  any  way  commit  himself  if  he  does 
not  choose  to.  He  is  open  to  the  attacks  of  the 
native  press,  and  these  are  often  very  virulent  ;  for 
the  freedom  of  the  native  press  is  run  wild  in  India. 
More  or  less,  he  must  give  public  receptions,  and 
these  must  comport  with  his  standing. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  General  Samuel  Merrill, 
who  was  United  States  consul-general  in  Calcutta 
during  part  of  the  time  we  were  there,  Mrs.  Griffin 
and  I  had  an  invitation  to  one  of  these  receptions, 
it  happening  when  we  were  in  Calcutta  on  the  eve 
of  our  return  to  America.  The  occasion  was  the 
visit  of  the  grand  duke  of  Austria.  It  was  a  very 
imposing  affair.  Native  kings  were  there,  clothed 
in  garments  literally  covered  with  gold  embroidery 
and  precious  stones ;  army  officers,  with  bright 
epaulets  ;  high  church  officials,  with  their  flowing 
robes  and  cardinal  caps  ;  and  hundreds  of  Cal- 
cutta's best  society  people.  The  splendor  and 
glitter  were  quite  dazzling  to  our  uninitiated  eyes. 
How  very  weary  Lord  and  Lady  Lansdown  were, 
and  how  we  pitied  them  !  We  went  away  feeling 
that,  after  all,  we  would  rather  be  simply  mission- 
aries to  the  people,  trying  by  teaching  to  lift  them 
up,  than  to  be  the  viceroy  of  India,  who  may  have 
the  same  end  in  view,  but  must  attain  it  through 
such  wearisome  and  conventional  methods. 


POLITICAL   DIVISIONS.  33 

The  crown  also  appoints  a  secretary  of  state  for 
India,  who  has  associated  with  him  a  council  of 
fifteen  members.  These  may  annul  the  acts  of  the 
viceroy,  or  inaugurate  new  measures  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Indian  people.  As  a  rule,  harmony  prevails 
between  the  viceroy  and  the  secretary  of  state. 
The  latter  with  his  council,  remains  in  London. 
So  much  for  the  mere  outline  of  the  machinery  of 
government  as  far  as  we  have  gone.  The  question 
of  schools  and  government  relation  to  them  will  be 
spoken  of  later  on. 

This  question  is  frequently  asked  me  :  ' '  Are 
the  people  well  governed  ?  and  are  they  contented 
under  English  rule  ? "  I  confess  I  went  to  India 
prejudiced  against  English  rule  there.  I  said, 4 '  The 
English  are  there  because  they  have  the  might, 
rather  than  the  right ;  and  they  oppress  the  people 
so  that  they  may  fatten  on  the  spoils. "  But  I  have 
changed  my  mind.  The  people  are  far  better  gov- 
erned than  they  could  govern  themselves.  If  their 
government  were  in  the  hands  of  native  rulers, 
there  would  be  little  security  for  justice,  life,  or 
property.  For  two  thousand  years,  under  native 
rule,  that  was  about  the  condition  of  things ;  and 
native  character  is  no  better  now  than  it  has  been 
in  the  past, —  at  least  it  is  not  enough  better  to  in- 
sure anything  like  good  government.  All  innocent 
natives  to  this  day  much  prefer  being  tried  by  an 
English  official ;  for  they  expect  justice  so  far  as 
an  English  judge  can  find  out  what  justice  is  in  the 
3 


34  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

midst  of  so  much  conflicting  evidence.  It  is  true 
that  many  of  the  natives  are  poor,  very  poor,  but 
they  are  as  prosperous  and  contented  as  it  is  pos- 
sible for  them  to  be  with  their  ignorance,  supersti- 
tion, habits  of  life,  religion,  and  the  land  rent 
which  must  be  paid  to  the  landholders  and  to  the 
government.1 

There  has  been  a  start  made  toward  self-govern- 
ment in  the  organization  of  district  boards.  These 
are  analogous  to  our  State  legislatures,  with,  of 
course,  many  more  limitations.  These  boards  levy 
the  rate  of  assessment,  appropriate  money  for  roads 
and  schools,  care  for  the  pounds  and  ferries,  and 
many  other  things  of  a  similar  nature.  But  as  a 
body  for  lawmaking,  or  as  one  having  authority  of 
the  internal  affairs  of  the  district,  it  is  little  more 


*The  one  criticism  upon  British  administration  in  India,  is  the 
enormous  salaries  of  officials  and  the  method  of  raising  part  of  this 
revenue,  especially  that  part  raised  by  the  sale  of  liquor,  opium,  and 
gunja.  The  viceroy  of  India  gets  $100,000  a  year;  the  governors  of 
Madras  and  Bombay,  each,  $50,000;  the  three  lieutenant-governors, 
$45,000  each;  members  of  the  executive  council  of  the  viceroy,  $35,- 
ooo  each;  judges  of  the  high  court,  from  $25,000  to  $30,000;  mem- 
bers  of  the  civil  service,  as  high  as  $20,000;  military  officers,  from 
$2000  to  $10,000;  medical  officers,  from  $3000  to  $12,000.  When  we 
remember  that  there  are  various  other  departments,  as  forest, schools, 
salt,  river  and  harbor,  railroad,  telegraph,  public  works,  marine, 
ecclesiastical,  etc.,  and  that  proportion  ably  well-paid  officers  are  in 
all  of  them,  we  see  the  criticism  is  a  just  one.  Though  English  offi- 
cials do  receive  enormous  salaries  in  India,  the  oppression  of  the 
land  tenants  is  not  so  great  where  British  rule  prevails  as  where 
native  rule  prevails. 


POLITICAL    DIVISIONS.  35 

than  a  farce,  as  I  can  bear  witness  after  having  been 
a  member  of  one  for  seven  years.  It  is  a  very  good 
thing,  perhaps,  in  the  way  of  an  educator,  and  at 
times  as  the  source  of  information  to  the  magistrate, 
who  is  also  chairman  of  the  board  ;  but  it  has  no 
independent  voice  if  the  chairman  does  not  agree. 
His  wish  is  the  law. 


M.  D.  (HARV'D) 
DEPT. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ROADS,   HIGHWAYS,   AND  WATERWAYS. 

INDIA  is  a  country  of  extremes,  and  the  state- 
ments made  by  different  people  are  so  very  dif- 
ferent, that  we  often  think  somebody  is  stretching 
the  truth.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  India  has  the  worst 
and  the  best  roads  in  the  world.  As  an  illustration 
let  me  give  a  bit  of  personal  experience  :  At  one 
time  I  wanted  to  visit  a  bungalow,  or  rest-house, 
which  was  in  quite  a  remote  part  of  the  district. 
Near  this  bungalow,  as  is  very  often  the  case,  was  a 
police  outpost  and  thannah.  The  name  of  the  place 
was  Bhograi.  I  had  never  been  there,  so  I  knew 
nothing  of  the  road,  but  was  told  by  several  natives 
about  there  that  it  was  only  six  miles  from  where  I 
was  camping,  and  that  the  road  leading  to  the 
place  was  good. 

Traveling  in  the  heat  of  the  day  is  not  safe  at 
any  season  of  the  year,  on  account  of  the  heat,  so 
I  waited  until  about  3  :  P.  M. ,  before  starting.  I 
took  with  me  a  bhangy  wallah,  which  means  a  man 
with  a  bamboo  pole  across  his  shoulder,  to  the  ends 
of  which  are  suspended,  by  means  of  ropes,  two 
burdens  of  equal  weight.  This  man  went  to  carry 
provisions,  water,  and  some  blankets  for  bedding. 
I  had  also  a  cook  with  a  few,  very  few,  cooking 
[36] 


ROADS,   HIGHWAYS,  AND   WATERWAYS.  37 

utensils,  and  a  man  to  look  after  the  pony.  Two 
of  my  native  preachers  were  with  me.  I  mounted 
the  pony,  and  away  we  started  in  fine  style. 

We  had  not  gone  more  than  a  mile  before  we 
came  to  a  large  tidal  river,  and  as  there  was  no 
way  to  get  the  horse  across  except  to  swim  him, 
which  was  unsafe  on  account  of  the  deep  mud  on 
either  side,  I  sent  him  back  with  the  man  who 
cared  for  him,  and  the  rest  of  us  got  in  a  dugout, 
and  crossed  the  river.  Before  I  could  land,  I  had 
to  take  off  my  shoes  and  stockings,  and  roll  my 
pantaloons  up  as  far  as  possible.  This  was  made 
necessary  on  account  of  the  deep  mud  through 
which  we  must  wade  before  getting  on  dry  ground. 
We  helped  each  other,  and  wallowed  through  as 
best  we  could.  I  found  a  place  to  wash  my  feet 
and  limbs,  and  putting  on  my  shoes,  we  started 
out  briskly  for  our  bungalow,  which  was  now  but 
five  miles  away. 

We  had  not  gone  very  far  over  the  rice-fields 
before  we  came  to  a  tidal  khal.  These  are  natural 
canals  making  back  from  the  rivers  and  the  sea. 
When  the  tide  is  in,  they  are  full,  and  when  out, 
they  are  empty.  There  is  always  plenty  of  mud  in 
the  bottom.  As  the  tide  was  now  in,  we  had  only 
to  prepare  to  wade.  This  time  the  mud  and  the 
water  were  a  foot  deeper  than  we  had  calculated 
on,  with  a  corresponding  result  to  our  pantaloons. 
As  we  found  these  khals  numerous,  we  gave  up 
putting  on  and  taking  off  shoes  and  stockings  ;  and, 

211283 


38  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

barefoot  and  with  shoes  and  stockings  in  hand,  we 
went  on,  winding  now  through  the  narrow  street  of 
a  village,  again  through  a  khal,  and  then  through 
a  rice-field,  and  did  not  reach  our  bungalow  until 
nine  o'clock.  We  found  it  stripped  of  every  piece 
of  furniture,  so,  getting  a  few  sheaves  of  rice-straw 
from  the  village,  we  made  our  bed  upon  the  hard 
stone  floor,  and  rested,  contemplating  the  luxury 
of  traveling  over  "  good  roads." 

To  reach  most  of  the  Hindu  villages  of  South- 
ern Bengal  during  the  rainy  season,  one  would 
pass  through  a  similar  experience.  The  produce 
is  taken  in  and  out  on  the  backs  of  bullocks,  the 
shoulders  of  men,  and  the  heads  of  the  women  ; 
and  one  may  look  in  almost  any  direction,  and  he 
will  see  these  coming  and  going  over  the  little 
winding  dams  which  separate  the  small  rice-fields 
from  each  other.  These  are  the  lowest  grade 
of  roads,  and  constitute  three  fourths  of  all  the 
roads. 

The  next  higher  class  of  roads  are  the  kancha 
roads  of  the  country.  Let  us  understand  the  words 
kancha  and  pucca  before  we  go  any  further ;  for 
they  are  such  significant  words  that  they  have  be- 
come Anglicized.  Kancha  means  incomplete,  and 
pucca,  the  opposite.  Kancha  may  be  applied  to  a 
poor  road,  to  unripe  fruit,  to  a  man  who  lacks  a 
little  in  intelligence,  to  a  poorly  constructed  house, 
or  to  a  poor  job  of  work  of  any  kind.  So  you  see 
what  kancha  means  when  applied  to  a  road.  The 


ROADS,   HIGHWAYS,  AND   WATERWAYS.  39 

greater  portion  of  the  country  roads  of  America 
would  be  called  kancha  in  India.  These  roads  may 
be  found  every  five  or  six  miles  apart,  leading  out 
from  some  larger  village  to  a  main  trunk  road, 
which  runs,  I  think,  through  every  district  in  the 
country. 

One  is  liable  to  many  different  kinds  of  experi- 
ences in  traveling  over  these  roads.  In  Bengal 
they  are  usually  narrow  turnpikes,  and  the  bridges 
are  quite  often  made  of  wood.  The  floods  may 
wash  the  turnpike  away,  or  the  natives  may  steal 
the  planks  from  the  bridge.  If  one  starts  with  an 
ox-cart  or  a  horse-cart,  over  one  of  these  roads,  he 
is  not  quite  sure  how  far  he  can  go.  Especially 
is  this  true  in  the  rains,  or  immediately  after  the 
rains. 

But  when  we  come  to  the  pucca  roads,  we  come 
to  the  best  that  can  be  made.  Take  the  pilgrim 
road  for  an  example.  It  starts,  we  might  say,  as 
far  up  as  Delhi,  and  runs  down  through  the  country 
to  Puri.  It  is  a  thousand  miles  long.  The  road- 
way is  from  one  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
wide,  and  the  turnpike  is  forty  feet  wide  and  from 
two  to  ten  feet  high.  It  has  metal  put  upon  it, 
either  gingta,  a  hard  nugget  of  limestone,  or  later- 
ite,  a  mixture  of  iron  and  stone.  These  are  spread 
upon  the  road,  then  thoroughly  saturated,  and 
beaten  down  by  men  with  iron  beaters,  and  allowed 
to  bake  in  the  hot  sun.  This  is  a  pucca  road,  and 
is  almost  as  hard  and  smooth  as  dressed  stone. 


4O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

Pepul-,  banian-,  and  mango-trees  are  planted 
along  the  roadside  so  as  to  furnish  grateful  shelter 
to  the  traveler.  Many  of  these  were  planted  years 
ago  by  the  government,  and  are  now  so  large  that 
they  form,  in  places,  beautiful  avenues.  All  of  the 
public  roads  are  built  and  maintained  by  the  gov- 
ernment. People  do  not  pay  their  road  tax  by 
doing  a  day's  work  at  home,  and  then  putting  in 
a  day  on  the  road,  all  inside  of  fifteen  hours.  One 
path-master  does  not  throw  up  an  embankment,  and 
another  tear  it  down,  but  competent  engineers  have 
charge,  the  work  is  let  by  contract,  and  when  com- 
pleted, it  is  inspected.  No  one  who  is  acquainted 
with  Indian  character  and  ways  of  doing  things, 
will  say  that  the  money  appropriated  is  all  honestly 
expended,  but  it  is,  comparatively  speaking,  fairly 
well  expended,  and  the  good  roads  are  kept  in  good 
order,  and  other  roads  are  being  constantly  im- 
proved. The  bridges  on  these  turnpike  roads  are 
either  iron  or  brick,  and  very  substantial. 

No  description  of  a  road  would  be  complete, 
especially  for  Bengal,  without  reference  to  the 
ferries.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  part  of 
the  country  is  level,  and  the  banks  of  the  rivers  are 
usually  low,  so  the  difficulty  of  making  bridges  is 
great.  Then  again,  the  very  heavy  rains  fill  these 
more  than  full,  so  that  sometimes  they  are  many 
times  their  usual  width.  Therefore,  ferries  are  in 
most  places  substituted.  Do  not  think  of  a  Brook- 
lyn ferry,  or  even  of  a  Western  river  ferry  of  this 


ROADS,  HIGHWAYS,  AND  WATERWAYS.  41 

country,  with  an  anchorage  up  stream,  but  of  a 
ferry  propelled  by  men  with  long  bamboo  poles, 
whose  principal  business  is  not  to  see  how  quickly 
they  can  get  you  across  the  stream,  but  rather  to 
see  how  much  time  they  can  consume,  and  how 
much  baksheesh  they  can  get  out  of  you.  This 
of  course  does  not  include  the  toll  for  the  use  of 
the  ferry.  As  one  side  at  least  of  almost  every 
river  has  a  low,  sandy  bottom,  the  ferry  is  propelled 
until  the  bottom  strikes  the  sand  ;  then  planks  are 
put  down,  and  the  cart  and  carriage  are  run  out 
into  the  water,  and  the  traveler  sits  on  the  hands 
of  the  boatmen,  who  unite  their  strength  to  carry 
him  out  to  dry  ground.  We  do  not  so  much  object 
to  putting  our  arms  around  the  neck  of  each  of 
these  men,  but  sometimes  the  ladies  would  rather 
be  excused.  But  it  must  be  done,  all  the  same. 
Then  the  sand  is  deep  and  wide,  and  the  oxen  or 
horses  cannot  draw  the  load,  and  must  therefore  be 
assisted.  These  boatmen  are  always  ready,  for  a 
consideration,  to  help  turn  wheels.  Europeans  can 
get  across  rather  quickly,  say  in  from  one  to  two 
hours ;  but  sometimes  the  poor  native  cartmen 
have  to  sit  in  the  sand  from  six  to  eight  hours, 
waiting  their  turn. 

Aside  from  roads,  the  government  has  made 
canals  as  highways  in  many  places.  Some  of  these 
answer  the  double  purpose  of  a  watercourse  for 
boats,  and  irrigation  for  the  rice-fields  ;  and  some 
are  for  irrigation  alone.  Both  classes  of  canals 


42  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

irrigate  thirty  million  acres.  Any  man  has  the 
privilege  of  putting  a  boat  on  the  canal,  but  must 
pay  a  lock  fee  according  to  the  capacity  of  his  boat 
and  the  distance  he  goes. 

Among  the  provisions  made  by  the  government 
for  its  officers,  are  rest-houses  along  these  roads 
and  canals.  These  are  called  bungalows,  and  are 
classified  as  inspection  bungalows  and  dak-bunga- 
lows. At  the  latter,  a  cook  is  kept,  and  one  can 
always  order  a  meal.  At  the  former,  one  must 
furnish  his  own  cook  and  food.  There  are  very 
few  dak-bungalows  in  Bengal.  These  buildings 
are  situated  on  as  desirable  a  site  as  can  be  found, 
and  are  about  ten  miles  distant  from  each  other. 
They  are  generally  divided  into  two  apartments, 
each  consisting  of  one  room  and  a  bath-room.  The 
furniture  for  each  apartment  consists  of  one  bed- 
stead, one  table,  two  or  three  chairs,  and  sometimes 
a  stand  and  a  commode,  and  a  large  earthen  jar 
for  bath-room  purposes.  In  traveling,  therefore, 
a  person  must  take  with  him,  his  bedding,  food, 
light,  water,  and  anything  else  he  may  need  in  a 
journey.  At  any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  he  may 
go  to  one  of  these  bungalows,  call  up  the  watch- 
man, and  take  possession,  providing  the  building  is 
unoccupied.  The  right  of  occupancy  depends  upon 
the  grade  of  the  officers  occupying  it.  Any  Euro- 
pean has  a  right  to  the  building,  if  unoccupied,  by 
paying  one  rupee  a  day.  In  our  field  of  Bengal 
and  Orissa,  free  use  of  the  bungalows  was  granted 


ROADS,  HIGHWAYS,  AND   WATERWAYS.  43 

the  missionaries  on  account  of  services  rendered 
during  the  great  Orissa  famine.  When  five  or  six 
people  wish  to  stay  at  one  bungalow  overnight, 
where  there  are  only  two  beds,  some  amusing  and 
interesting  experiences  are  sometimes  had. 

The  only  time  I  ever  was  in  jail  overnight,  was 
on  an  occasion  of  this  kind.  We  were  going  to 
our  annual  meeting  at  Midnapore.  There  were 
six  of  us  in  company,  and  we  had  planned  to 
stop  at  a  certain  bungalow.  We  thought  our  large 
wagon  would  furnish  bed-room  for  two,  and  the 
two  beds  of  the  bungalow  would  do  for  the  rest 
of  us.  As  we  came  near  the  bungalow,  tired  and 
hungry,  the  shades  of  night  were  gathering.  We 
congratulated  ourselves  that  food,  shelter,  and  rest 
were  not  far  away ;  but  a  little  closer  view  dis- 
closed the  fact  that  the  building  was  full  to  over- 
flowing of  English  officials  and  their  wives.  We 
moved  on  to  the  bazaar,  took  our  supper  under  a 
tree,  and  found  a  shelter  for  ourselves  ;  •/.  e. ,  we 
men,  in  the  jail  near  by,  while  the  ladies  slept  in 
the  wagon. 

RAILWAYS. 

The  first  railroad  in  India  was  completed  in 
1853.  It  ran  from  Bombay  to  Tanna,  a  distance 
of  three  miles.  During  the  mutiny  of  1857-58 
the  government  saw  how  badly  it  was  crippled  for 
want  of  means  to  transport  the  soldiers,  and  firmly 
resolved  that  if  the  country  should  ever  see  another 


44  DAILY    LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

mutiny,  it  would  not  be  thus  unprepared.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  mutiny  closed,  the  scheme  of 
Lord  Dalhousie,  which  had  previously  been  before 
the  country,  was  at  once  acted  upon.  This  plan 
was  to  have  a  few  trunk  lines  traverse  the  country, 
connecting  the  large  cities  and  the  military  stations, 
and  then  construct  shorter  roads,  as  feeders,  to 
connect  with  these.  From  that  small  beginning 
of  1853,  the  work  has  gradually,  but  for  India, 
rapidly,  extended.  In  1878  there  were  eight  thou- 
sand miles  of  railroad,  and  in  1 890,  sixteen  thou- 
sand miles. 

In  later  years  some  roads  have  been  built  entirely 
by  the  government  ;  but  the  first  roads  were  built 
by  private  companies,  and  then  people  could  be 
induced  to  embark  in  such  an  uncertain  enterprise, 
only  by  the  government's  guaranteeing  them  five 
per  cent,  on  the  money  invested.  But  if  the  gov- 
ernment gave  such  a  guaranty,  it  demanded  that 
upon  certain  conditions  it  might  take  over  the 
road.  The  roads  have  been  found  to  be  such  a 
paying  investment,  that  the  government  has  taken 
over  a  number  of  them. 

The  cars,  or  carriages  as  they  are  called  there, 
are  divided  into  compartments  by  partitions  run- 
ning across  the  cars.  The  seats  also  run  cross- 
wise and  are  as  long  as  the'  cars  are  wide.  You 
enter  by  a  door  on  the  side.  The  station-houses 
are  so  constructed  that  a  platform  as  long  as  the 


ROADS,   HIGHWAYS,   AND    WATERWAYS.  45 

train,  is  on  a  level  with  the  floor  of  the  cars.  When 
the  train  comes  to  a  halt,  the  guards  open  the  doors, 
and  the  passengers  get  in  and  out.  Those  getting 
in  are  looking  for  their  ' '  class  ; "  for  the  train  has 
usually  four  classes  of  carriages.  First-class  is  very 
fine ;  more  commodious  than,  and  fully  as  elegant 
as  our  drawing-room  cars.  The  second-class  is  only 
half  the  price  of  the  first,  and  is  good  enough  for 
any  person.  The  intermediate  costs  half  the  price 
of  the  second,  and  is  very  good.  Most  missionaries 
ride  in  these  latter  compartments.  Eight  people 
can  sit  in  one,  but  so  few  Europeans  travel  inter- 
mediate, that  usually  each  one  can  have  a  whole 
seat  to  himself  when  sleeping  time  comes,  for  there 
are  two  shelves  above,  which  can  be  let  down  for 
this  purpose.  If  the  compartment  happens  to  be 
full,  one  does  not  sleep  in  very  much  comfort ;  but 
even  then,  there  is  more  room  than  in  a  single  seat 
in  an  American  car. 

The  next  class  below  is  third-class,  and  the  price 
is  but  half  the  intermediate.  The  great  bulk  of 
native  travel,  is  in  this  class.  The  seats  are  sim- 
ply boards,  and  the  people  are  usually  so  crowded 
that  lying  down  is  impossible.  There  are  neces- 
sarily compartments  for  zenana  women.  Now  not 
far  from  sixty  million  passengers  ride  each  year  on 
the  railroad.  All  third-class  passengers,  whether 
coolies  or  Brahmins,  are  hustled  into  their  places 
as  soon  as  the  cars  stop.  At  first  the  Brahmin 


46  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

looked  norror-stricken  at  being  put  in  the  same 
compartment  with  a  low-caste  man,  but  he  must  go 
all  the  same.  High  and  low  have  found  that  no 
harm  comes  to  either  by  sitting  together,  so  the 
railroads  have  not  only  afforded  cheap  facilities 
for  travel,  but  have  been  a  great  educator. 


TEMPLE  or  JUGGERNAUT 


MISSION  HOUSE  AT  BALASORE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

"  WHAT  kind  of  houses  do  they  have  in  India  ?  " 
I  could  not  answer  that  question  in  a  single  sen- 
tence. In  general,  the  houses  may  be  divided  into 
pucca  and  kancha.  These  words  are  used  in  the 
same  sense  as  when  applied  to  roads.  Then  there 
are  peculiar  styles  of  buildings,  according  to  the 
use  which  is  to  be  made  of  them.  The  mosques 
and  tombs  of  the  Mohammedans  are  not  at  all  like 
the  temples  of  the  Hindus.  Minarets,  domes,  and 
arches  characterize  the  former,  while  sharper  pin- 
nacles and  the  entire  absence  of  domes  characterize 
the  latter.  In  large  cities  there  are  blocks  not  very 
different  in  appearance  from  buildings  in  England 
and  America.  There  are  some  very  beautiful 
buildings  in  all  of  these  three  styles. 

The  greater  number  of  the  Hindu  temples  are 
built  of  brick,  and  plastered  with  lime  and  sand 
mortar  outside  and  in,  on  the  walls.  Generally,  in 
addition  to  the  plaster,  there  are  figures  in  stucco- 
work  both  inside  and  outside,  representing  different 
things  in  their  mythology  and  sacred  books.  Accord- 
ing to  our  tastes  and  education,  these  figures  often 
represent  lewd  subjects. 

The  better  class  of  native  gentlemen's  houses  are 
built  of  the  same  material  as  the  temples.  Very 

[47] 


48  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

little  wood  is  used  in  the  construction  of  any  of 
these  buildings,  and  in  temples  often  none  at  all  is 
used.  Where  doors  are  required,  scantling  four 
inches  square  are  taken  to  make  the  frames  for  the 
same.  These  are  tarred,  to  keep  the  white  ants 
from  eating  them  up,  and  so  put  together  that  the 
ends  at  the  top  and  bottom,  set  into  the  solid  brick 
wall  a  foot  or  more.  All  partitions  are  made  of 
brick  from  the  foundation,  the  same  as  the  outer 
walls,  and  built  up  with  them.  The  floor  is  made 
by  first  putting  in  dirt  enough  to  raise  it  up  a  foot 
or  more  above  the  level  of  the  ground.  After  this 
is  beaten  down  as  hard  as  possible,  a  layer  of  brick 
is  put  down,  and  upon  the  brick  is  laid  a  thick  coat- 
ing of  material  made  of  equal  parts  of  broken  brick, 
gravel,  lime,  and  coarse  sand.  This  is  wet  and 
beaten  day  after  day  until  it  becomes  very  hard. 
Lime  is  then  wet,  ground  between  two  stones  until 
it  becomes  like  putty,  and  then  plastered  on  the 
floor,  and  troweled,  and  wet,  and  beaten  until  it  is 
almost  as  hard  and  smooth  as  marble.  This  is  the 
way  the  floors  of  nearly  all  the  houses  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, native  gentlemen,  and  English  residents, 
are  made.  Some  very  fine  residences  and  buildings 
have  floors  of  porcelain,  English  tile,  or  marble. 

If  the  house  has  two  stories,  the  upper  floor  is 
made  by  putting  heavy  timbers  or  iron  beams  from 
wall  to  wall  about  three  or  four  feet  apart.  From 
beam  to  beam  light  timbers  or  irons  are  put  a  foot 
apart,  and  on  these  a  square  native  tile  is  laid 


ARCHITECTURE.  49 

double  thickness,  and  so  laid  as  to  break  joints. 
Then  the  same  broken  brick,  lime,  and  sand  are 
used,  and  put  down  in  the  same  manner.  The 
roof  is  put  on  in  the  same  way.  This  explains  why 
we  can  go  upon  the  housetop  to  sit,  and  even  to 
sleep  at  times.  It  often  happens  that  white  ants 
make  their  way  up  through  these  brick  walls  and 
devour  the  wooden  beams  which  support  the  cham- 
ber on  the  roof.  After  a  time  the  beams  are  eaten 
to  a  shell  (for  one  can  never  see  the  white  ants  at 
work),  and  then  comes  the  interesting  work  of 
"changing  a  beam."  The  natives  are  slow  and 
awkward,  so  lime,  brick,  dust,  and  litter  are  about 
for  many  days.  Also  much  ordering  and  loud  talk- 
ing are  heard,  for  every  man  wants  to  boss  the  job. 
It  often  happens  that  the  walls  of  a  house  are 
made  of  brick,  while  the  roof  is  made  of  thatch. 

The  most  beautiful  and  costly  buildings  belong 
to  the  Mohammedan  style  of  architecture.  These 
abound  in  Northern  India,  and  are  either  mosques, 
palaces,  or  tombs.  The  palaces  of  Delhi  and  Agra, 
are  exquisite  works  of  art ;  the  tomb  of  Akbar,  at 
Secundra,  near  Agra,  is  magnificent ;  the  tomb  of 
Edmud-ud-dowlah  is  a  perfect  gem  ;  but  the  Taj 
Mahal  eclipses  them  all.  It  was  built  by  the  em- 
peror Shah  Jehan,  in  honor  of  his  favorite  wife 
Mumtazi  Mahal,  in  1620.  The  gateway  is  a  mag- 
nificent structure  of  red  sandstone,  but  serves  only 
as  a  fit  entrance  to  the  tomb  itself.  From  the  gate- 
way to  the  Taj,  is  a  marble  walk,  with  a  hundred 
4 


5O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

fountains  on  one  side,  and  tall  cypress  and  many 
other  kinds  of  beautiful  trees  on  the  other.  The 
tomb  stands  upon  a  double  platform.  The  first  is 
twenty  feet  high  and  a  thousand  feet  long,  and  is 
made  of  red  sandstone.  At  each  end  of  this  lower 
platform  is  a  mosque  made  of  the  same  material. 
The  second  platform  is  built  in  the  center  of  the  first, 
is  three  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  square  and  eight- 
een feet  high,  and  is  built  of  pure  white  marble.  On 
the  four  corners  of  this  platform  are  marble  mina- 
rets one  hundred  and  thirty-three  feet  high,  with 
winding  stairways  in  the  center  from  bottom  to 
top.  On  the  top  is  a  balcony,  and  the  outlook 
from  this  is  perfectly  enchanting.  In  the  center  of 
this  platform  rises  the  Taj,  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
six  feet  square,  with  the  corners,  to  the  extent  of 
thirty-three  feet,  cut  off,  forming  an  irregular  octa- 
gon. In  the  center  is  the  great  dome  fifty  feet  in 
diameter  and  eighty  feet  high.  Exactly  under  the 
center  of  this  dome  are  the  marble  sarcophagi  of 
the  emperor  and  his  wife.  The  light  is  admitted 
through  trellis-work,  wrought  exquisitely  in  slabs 
of  white  marble,  producing  the  most  soft  and  cha- 
stened effect.  In  many  places  precious  stones  are 
inlaid  in  many  kinds  of  designs. 

The  echo  is  not  the  least  wonderful  thing  about 
this  structure.  If  one  stands  by  the  marble  coffins 
and  sings,  he  will  be  surprised  at  the  melody  which 
comes  back  to  him  from  his  own  voice.  As  it 
begins  to  ascend,  it  sounds  like  the  very  lowest 


TAJ  MAHAI,  AT  AGRA. 


BUILDING  A  MUD  HOUSE. 


ARCHITECTURE  5 1 

notes  of  a  great  pipe-organ,  but  as  it  ascends,  it 
becomes  more  distinct  and  musical.  The  higher 
it  rises,  reverberating  from  side  to  side,  the  more  soft 
and  sweet  it  becomes,  till  at  last  as  it  dies  away  in 
the  top  of  the  dome,  one  might  fancy  the  angels 
were  whispering  his  song  back  to  him.  I  have 
thought  how  very  like  to  this  are  the  sorrows  of 
life, — harsh  and  discordant  at  first,  but  as  they 
ascend  heavenward  they  are  robbed  of  their  harsh- 
ness, and  at  last  they  come  back  to  us  glorified. 

We  went  into  the  crypt  of  the  Pantheon  at  Paris 
to  see  the  resting-place  of  Victor  Hugo,  Voltaire, 
and  Rousseau  ;  and  the  guide,  for  a  consideration, 
wanted  us  to  hear  the  echo  of  this  place,  but  it 
bears  no  comparison  to  the  echo  of  the  Taj. 
Some  one  has  said  that  the  Taj  is  "a  poem  in 
marble." 

But  let  us  pass  from  poetry  to  prose,  from  this 
fairy  place  to  the  common  houses  of  the  people. 
There  is  only  one  Taj,  and  one  Imimbarrah,  and  a 
few  palaces,  but  there  are  millions  of  houses  of  the 
common  people,  and  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty 
of  the  people  live  in  these  common  houses. 

Let  us  proceed  to  build  one.  We  first  count 
our  money  to  see  what  kind  of  house  it  is  to  be. 
If  we  have  $5,  we  plan  accordingly;  and  if  we  have 
$25,  we  can  do  much  better.  Suppose  it  be  the 
latter  sum.  We  call  men  whose  business  it  is  to 
build  mud  walls,  and  tell  them  how  large  a  house 
we  want,  and  how  many  "hands"  there  will  be  in 


$2  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

the  walls.  After  a  good  deal  of  bickering,  they 
agree  to  take  the  customary  price  of  eight  cents  a 
hand  for  laying  up  the  walls.  That  is,  the  walls 
are  to  be  seven  and  one-half  feet  high,  and  for  each 
foot  and  a  half  in  length  of  this  wall,  they  are  to 
have  eight  cents.  We  furnish  them  with  two  or 
three  large,  heavy  hoes,  a  half  dozen  water-pots, 
and  a  long  string  of  twisted  grass  or  jute,  and  they 
are  ready  to  build  the  house.  First  a  string  is  put 
around  where  the  outside  of  the  walls  are  to  be. 
This  is  secured  at  the  four  corners  by  pins  driven 
into  the  ground.  Inside  of  this  string  is  another, 
the  distance  from  the  outside  string  which  the 
thickness  of  the  wall  is  to  be.  The  ground  be- 
tween these  two  strings  is  dug  up,  wet,  and  worked 
by  the  feet  and  big  hoes,  until  it  becomes  a  mortar. 
It  then  bakes  in  the  sun  until  it  is  hard.  A  little 
way  outside  the  walls  a  hole  is  dug,  from  which 
mud  is  taken  to  build  the  walls.  First  a  layer  a 
foot  high  is  put  on,  and  allowed  to  stand  a  week  or 
so,  that  it  may  be  hard  and  dry.  Then  another 
one  is  put  on,  and  so  on,  layer  after  layer  until  the 
wall  is  the  desired  height.  Bamboo  poles  are  put  on 
for  rafters,  and  these  extend  about  three  feet  over 
the  walls.  Across  these  rafters  split  bamboos  are 
tied  about  two  inches  apart.  Upon  this  the  rice- 
straw  is  laid  smoothly,  and  fastened  to  its  place  by 
another  strip  of  split  bamboo.  The  fastening  is 
done  by  putting  a  long  bamboo  needle,  which  has 
a  string  attached  to  it,  down  through  the  straw, 


ARCHITECTURE.  53 

around  a  rafter,  and  up  over  the  split  bamboo, 
tying  the  string  securely.  If  the  outside  walls  were 
20  x  40  feet,  it  does  not  argue  that  the  roof  will, 
cover  all  that  space.  Two  cross  walls  are  made, 
leaving  an  open  court  in  the  center.  There  is  but 
one  outside  door,  with  a  few  small  holes  for  win- 
dows. Around  the  outside  of  the  house  is  a  mud 
veranda,  covered  by  the  projecting  roof.  This 
veranda  is  the  reception-room  for  men  who  may 
call,  and  especially  for  strangers.  There  are  a  few 
wooden  bars  put  in  the  windows,  and  a  small  door 
to  keep  out  the  cold  air  in  winter,  and  to  keep  in 
the  smoke.  The  cooking  is  frequently  done  in  one 
corner  of  the  room,  allowing  the  smoke  to  get  out 
the  best  way  it  can. 

In  Northern  India,  as  also  in  Southern  India,  we 
see  very  little  straw  thatching.  There  tile  is  used. 
In  fact,  most  of  the  native  shops  in  Calcutta  are 
covered  with  tile.  Many  of  the  aborigines  live  in 
huts  covered  with  grass  or  the  leaves  of  a  scrubby 
palm.  The  roof  and  walls  are  one  and  the  same,  and 
the  people  enter  these  houses  by  crawling  into  them. 
We  see,  therefore,  that  there  are  all  kinds  of  build- 
ings in  India,  from  the  hut  just  described  to  the  Taj 
Mahal,  which  took  twenty  thousand  men  twenty 
years  to  build. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PRODUCTIONS,    NATURAL   AND   OTHERWISE. 

BENGAL  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  rice  country,  and 
Northern  India,  a  wheat  country.  These  two 
grains  are  the  foundation  of  the  dishes  of  the  peo- 
ple. A  number  of  varieties  of  the  pulse  family 
grow  on  higher  and  more  sandy  land.  Some  of 
the  grains  of  these  are  as  large  as  our  common 
pea  ;  others  are  much  smaller.  These  several  va- 
rieties have  different  names,  but  in  general  are 
called  dal.  A  good  deal  of  millet  and  inferior 
grains  of  that  kind  are  raised  north.  Flax  is  raised 
and  oats  and  corn  on  the  lower  ranges  of  the 
Himalayas. 

There  is  quite  a  variety  of  roots.  The  sweet 
potato  does  well  on  the  plains,  and  the  Irish  potato 
in  the  mountains  and  on  the  west  coast.  There  is 
a  large  kind  of  raddish,  which  may  be  eaten  either 
raw  or  cooked,  and  which  is  produced  in  large 
quantities.  Artichokes,  yams,  and  the  roots  of 
the  Caladium  are  also  articles  of  food. 

Many  kinds  of  vegetables  grow  well.  There  is 
a  large  variety  belonging  to  the  gourd  family,  as 
squash,  pumpkins,  cucumbers,  watermelons  and 
muskmelons,  citron,  and  other  varieties  not  pro- 
duced in  America.  Almost  all  kinds  of  European 
[54  ] 


PRODUCTIONS.  5  5 

vegetables  may  be  raised  in  Bengal  and  farther 
north  in  the  winter  season.  The  egg-plant  is  ex- 
tensively cultivated  in  many  parts  of  Bengal  in  the 
winter.  There  are  many  other  kinds  of  native 
vegetables  that  we  in  America  are  wholly  unac- 
quainted with.  All  European  vegetables  are  very 
tasteless  in  India  compared  with  the  same  thing  in 
America. 

A  great  variety  of  fruit  is  raised,  but  as  a  rule 
a  great  variety  is  not  grown  in  any  one  place. 
Bananas  are  the  most  common.  Pineapples,  cus- 
tard-apples, mangoes,  jack-fruit,  bael,  papayas,  and 
guavas  are,  aside  from  bananas,  the  principal  fruits 
of  Bengal.  Assam  produces  oranges  and  lemons  ; 
and  a  large,  sweet  orange  is  grown,  as  are  also 
sweet  limes,  farther  north.  The  Afghans  bring 
down  fresh  grapes,  apples,  raisins,  and  nuts.  Coco- 
nuts grow  more  or  less  in  many  parts  of  the 
country. 

Sugar-cane  plantations  abound.  The  natives 
manufacture  a  coarse  brown  sugar  from  which  they 
make  their  native  sweets,  and  from  which  also 
great  quantities  of  refined  sugar  are  produced  in 
Calcutta  and  elsewhere. 

Jute  and  opium  are  among  the  exports,  also  oils 
of  different  kinds,  as  coconut-,  mustard-,  and 
castor-oil.  Sheep,  goats,  cows,  and  buffaloes  are 
among  the  most  useful  and  common  of  animals. 
From  the  milk  of  the  cow  and  the  buffalo  the 
natives  make  a  butter  which,  when  melted  and 


56  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

clarified,  is  called  ghee.  This  is  most  important, 
as  it  enters  into  almost  every  well-cooked  meal, 
either  of  the  European  or  the  native. 

In  Calcutta  and  other  large  cities  which  have 
railroad  communication  with  other  parts,  almost 
every  kind  of  these  fruits  and  vegetables  may  be 
found,  but  in  the  more  secluded  and  remote  places, 
the  question  of  getting  a  variety  to  eat,  at  times 
becomes  a  troublesome  one.  At  Balasore  we  could 
get  mangoes  in  May  and  June,  custard-apples  in 
July  and  August,  jack-fruit  at  the  same  time,  and 
also  pineapples,  while  bananas  grew  the  year  round ; 
but  the  supply  was  liable  to  be  short,  and  if  so,  we 
must  go  without. 

' '  What  do  the  people  eat  ?  "  This  is  a  most 
common  question.  We  could  answer  it  in  a  gen- 
eral way  by  saying  they  ate  about  what  the  country 
produced.  There  are  some  things  a  good  Hindu 
will  not  eat.  He  never  takes  life  of  any  kind,  and 
therefore  will  not  eat  flesh  of  any  kind,  except,  in 
some  places,  fish.  Then  a  third  of  the  people  do 
not  get  enough  of  the  plainest  kind  of  food  to  sat- 
isfy their  hunger.  These  must  eat  the  cheapest 
things  they  can  get.  In  the  mango  season  this 
fruit  is  eagerly  eaten  from  the  time  it  is  as  large  as 
a  plum,  up  to  the  time  it  ripens.  When  ripe,  it  is 
as  large  as  a  large  apple.  It  is  not  because  the 
country  does  not  produce  enough  for  the  people  to 
eat,  that  many  do  not  have  enough,  but  because 
they  are  too  poor  to  buy  it.  There  are  millions  of 


PRODUCTIONS.  57 

bushels  of  rice  and  wheat  shipped  from  India  every 
year. 

Leaving  out  the  very  poor,  who  do  not  have 
regular  daily  meals  of  cooked  food,  let  us  see  what 
those  eat  who  do.  In  Bengal  boiled  rice  and 
boiled  split  peas,  called  dal,  is  the  principal  thing. 
The  rice  is  boiled,  and  the  water  turned  off  into 
a  separate  dish.  The  rice  is  then  put  back  again 
on  the  fire  for  a  few  minutes,  when  it  comes  off  dry 
and  fluffy.  In  the  dal,  some  mustard-oil  or  ghee, 
and  salt,  pepper,  and  other  spices  are  put.  The 
natives  take  their  rice,  and  put  it  either  upon  a  brass 
plate  or  a  banana  leaf,  make  a  hole  in  the  center 
into  which  they  turn  the  dal,  and  then  proceed  to 
mix  the  whole  together  with  their  ringers.  Their 
table  is  a  grass  mat  spread  upon  the  floor,  over 
which  may  or  may  not  be  spread  a  cloth,  and  their 
chairs  are  their  legs  crossed  under  them.  The 
male  portion  of  the  family  eat  first,  while  the  other 
portion  waits  upon  them.  The  women  have  their 
meals  afterward,  if  there  is  enough  for  all.  In  place 
of  the  dal  they  frequently  make  a  curry  with  either 
vegetables  or  fish  for  a  foundation,  having  other- 
wise about  the  same  seasoning  as  the  dal.  Onions 
and  huldee  (  a  pungent  root )  enter  into  almost  all 
of  their  well-cooked  dishes.  They  make  a  pudding 
from  rice,  milk,  and  sugar,  seasoning  it  with  cam- 
phor. This  is  eaten  only  on  rare  occasions. 
The  wealthy  are  very  fond  of  sweets,  and  eat  a 
great  many.  They  have  a  very  great  variety  of 


58  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

these.  If  a  person  calls  on  a  native  gentleman, 
and  he  wishes  to  be  very  cordial,  he  sends  out  a 
servant  to  the  bazaar  to  bring  in  a  tray  of  mixed 
native  sweets.  Many  Europeans  do  not  care  for 
these,  but  I  was  very  fond  of  them.  The  water 
turned  from  the  rice  of  the  last  night's  dinner,  con- 
stitutes the  breakfast  of  most  of  the  laboring  peo- 
ple in  the  rice  districts.  In  Upper  India  wheat  is 
ground  whole,  and  baked  into  cakes ;  this  takes 
the  place  of  rice  in  Bengal. 

"What  do  you  missionaries  eat?" — Rice,  dal, 
and  curry,  are  much  more  largely  eaten  in  India 
than  in  America  ;  but  aside  from  these,  if  one  lives 
in  a  city  like  Calcutta,  he  can  get  many  of  the  same 
things  he  can  get  at  home  ;  i.  e.,  if  he  has  the 
money,  for  what  is  not  produced  in  the  country  is 
imported  from  England,  Australia,  and  the  United 
States.  But  back  in  remote  stations  it  is  a  very 
different  thing.  As  I  said,  you  are  for  fruits 
largely  dependant  upon  local  supply,  which  may 
fail.  No  beef  can  be  had,  and  but  little  mutton 
and  fish.  Chicken,  poor  and  tough,  is  the  only 
thing  one  can  be  sure  of  in  the  meat  line,  and  even 
then  he  must  look  sharp  or  the  supply  may  run 
out.  Generally  one  can  get  what  eggs  he  needs, 
and  milk,  if  he  keeps  his  own  cows.  We  have 
taught  native  Christians  how  to  milk  to  suit  us, 
and  could  buy  milk  of  them.  We  never  think  of 
eating  the  milk  from  an  ordinary  Hindu  village. 
They  have  a  way  of  cleaning  dishes  and  flavoring 


PRODUCTIONS.  59 

milk,  which  we  have  not  been  educated  into  liking. 
One  can  get  about  what  bread  he  needs,  but  it  is 
not  very  good ;  also  in  the  winter,  vegetables  from 
the  garden  ;  and  in  the  rains,  native  vegetables. 
As  a  rule  the  eating  habits  of  the  natives  are  sim- 
ple, and  so  are  those  of  the  missionaries.  I  would 
hardly  recommend  any  person,  however,  to  go  to 
India  for  the  sake  of  what  he  might  get  to  eat,  and 
especially  to  the  country  districts. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CLIMATE. 

You  may  have  in  India  almost  any  kind  of  cli- 
mate your  means  and  taste  may  suggest.  In  the 
north  you  may  go  up  the  Himalaya  Mountains  until 
you  come  to  the  fields  of  perpetual  ice  and  snow. 
These  are  not  the  ordinary  snow-capped  moun- 
tains, but  those  grand  ranges  whose  cold  summits 
seem  to  pierce  the  very  sky.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  go  to  the  top  of  these  ranges  to  find  eternal 
winter.  The  top,  in  fact,  was  never  reached  by 
man  or  beast.  Even  the  birds  in  their  loftiest 
flights  never  scaled  the  heights  of  such  mountains 
as  Everest,  29,000  feet  high,  or  Kinchinjinga,  28,- 
ooo  feet  high.  Ten  thousand  feet  below  the  top 
of  these  you  could  build  your  snow  house,  and  live 
as  the  Eskimo  does,  if  some  great  glazier  did  not 
carry  your  house  away.  If  you  did  not  like  this, 
you  could  go  to  the  south  of  India,  where  you 
would  have  summer  the  year  around.  So  warm 
is  it  here  that  the  chilly  wind  is  scarcely  felt,  and 
the  blighting  frost  is  never  known. 

On  the   plains   between   the   mountains  of  the 

north   and   the   perpetual   summer  of   the   south, 

there  is  almost  every  degree  of   climate.     In  the 

Punjab,  summer  is  hot,  but  shorter,  and  the  winter 

[60] 


CLIMATE.  6 1 

quite  cold.  In  the  Northwestern  Provinces,  the 
heat  of  summer  is  more  intense  than  it  is  even  far- 
ther south,  on  account  of  the  hot  winds  blowing  off 
the  sands  of  Central  India  and  Rajputana.  It  is 
not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the  thermometer  to 
register  120°  on  the  veranda.  The  rains  here 
close  earlier,  and  refreshing,  cool  nights  are  expe- 
rienced by  October  i.  Ice,  one  fourth  of  an  inch 
thick,  is  formed  in  some  of  the  coldest  nights,  and 
this  cooler  season  lasts  longer  than  in  Bengal.  On 
the  plains  of  Bengal  and  Orissa  we  never  have 
frosts  or  snow.  The  hot  season  here  begins  with 
the  change  of  the  wind  from  the  northwest  to  the 
southeast.  When  the  latter  wind  is  really  estab- 
lished, the  hot  season  is  upon  us.  This  is  usually 
about  March  I.  The  longer  the  wind  blows,  the 
hotter  the  season  becomes,  so  that  April,  May,  and 
the  most  of  June  give  us  our  hottest  months.  The 
thermometer  will  range  from  90°  to  100°  in  the 
house  most  of  the  time  during  these  months.  We 
are  liable  to  have  a  few  thunder-storms  in  May, 
which  are  most  refreshing  after  the  hot,  dry  winds 
of  March  and  April. 

About  June  1 5  or  20,  we  look  for  a  break  in  the 
season.  Dark  clouds  in  the  northwest,  loud  claps 
of  thunder,  and  some  hard  winds  tell  us  the  rains 
are  approaching.  These  are  more  or  less  constant 
until  November.  At  the  beginning  they  are  re- 
freshing. The  air  is  cooler  and  the  grass  springs 
up  green  and  fresh.  In  July  the  rains  are  more 


62  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

constant,  and  the  sun  comes  out  between  showers, 
often  very  hot  and  sultry,  and  one  begins  to  feel 
the  depressing  influence  of  the  humid,  hot  atmos- 
phere. In  August  the  fields  are  full  of  water,  and 
rivers  have  overflowed  their  banks ;  tanks  and 
ditches  are  full,  and  the  ground  is  so  full  that  it 
sometimes  seems  as  if  the  very  earth  were  turning 
into  a  bed  of  mortar ;  the  atmosphere  is  full  of 
moisture,  and  still  it  rains.  As  September  comes, 
there  is  no  cessation,  but  rather  an  increase.  The 
rank  vines  growing  up  the  trees  and  beside  garden 
walls,  and  sometimes  running  up  the  sides  of  your 
houses  and  over  the  gate-posts,  droop  their  leaves 
to  shake  themselves  from  their  shower-bath  ;  the 
trees  are  in  mourning  ;  and  the  very  grass  has  lost 
heart,  and  no  longer  tries  to  stand  erect.  Shoes, 
harness,  trunks,  books,  and  everything  that  can 
gather  moisture,  is  covered  with  mold.  And  still 
it  rains.  White  ants  with  wings,  fly  at  night  into 
your  house,  and  gnats  of  all  kinds  so  fill  the  air 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  lamp  that  at  times  you  can 
hardly  keep  them  out  of  your  mouth  or  eyes  as 
you  try  to  read  aloud.  These  large  white  ants 
with  wings  sometimes  want  to  share  the  gravy  and 
the  roast  for  dinner ;  and  when  you  find  a  few  of 
them  in  the  dish,  you  lean  back  and  wish  audibly 
that  the  rains  were  over. 

October  comes,  and  showers  are  less  frequent. 
You  someway  feel  a  difference  in  the  atmosphere. 
It  is  about  as  hot,  and  there  is  nearly  as  much 


CLIMATE.  63 

mud,  but  still  you  feel  that  autumn  is  coming. 
Some  morning  you  wake  up  early  and  find  a  north- 
west wind  blowing  in  your  room,  and  you  exclaim 
with  joy,  ' '  The  winter  is  coming  !  "  In  an  hour 
it  is  back  again  in  the  south,  but  you  know  the 
cold  season  is  approaching.  There  is  sometimes  a 
war  in  the  elements,  and  this  is  also  the  season  for 
cyclones.  At  last,  however,  the  wind  is  in  the 
northwest  to  stay,  and  as  it  blows  down  off  the 
snow-  and  ice-fields  of  the  Himalayas,  you  begin 
to  feel  new  life  coming  back  to  you.  The  sky  is 
so  blue,  and  the  atmosphere  so  clear,  and  the  rice- 
fields  so  golden,  and  the  cattle  so  sleek  and  fat, 
that  all  feel  like  rejoicing  over  the  changed  condi- 
tion, and  the  prospect  before  us.  But  alas  !  this 
is  also  the  season  of  fevers,  and  so  severe  and 
persistent  are  these,  that  of  all  the  deaths  in  India, 
though  we  hear  much  of  cholera  and  smallpox, 
ninety  per  cent,  are  from  this  cause.  The  mission- 
ary now  begins  to  plan  for  his  country  tours,  and 
the  farmer  to  gather  in  his  harvest.  Of  these  I 
will  speak  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SCENERY   AND   SIGHTS. 

THE  great  diversity  in  climate  suggests  a  diversity 
in  scenery,  and  so  there  is.  Suppose  we  begin  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Hugh  River,  which  is  one  of  the 
principal  mouths  of  the  Ganges,  and  go  up  this 
river  as  far  as  Calcutta,  just  as  we  did  when  we 
went  to  India,  then  take  a  trip  into  the  country  by 
road,  and  we  get  an  idea  of  Bengal.  We  are  on 
shipboard,  and  are  seeing  India  for  the  first  time. 
Our  good  ship  drops  her  anchor  near  the  pilot  brig, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  pilot  steps  on 
board  to  take  charge  of  her  up  the  dangerous  and 
treacherous  channel.  We  are  so  full  of  expectancy 
that  we  do  not  sleep  much,  and  early  in  the  morn- 
ing are  on  deck.  Soon  all  is  commotion.  The 
tide  will  soon  be  rising,  and  we  must  run  up  with 
the  full  tide.  The  order  is  given  to  raise  the  an- 
chor, and  the  little  steam  winches  begin  such  a 
rattling  that  little  else  can  be  heard. 

But  the  bay  !  Are  our  spirits  so  joyful  because 
our  long  voyage  of  fourteen  thousand  miles  is  so 
nearly  over,  or  is  the  water  the  most  beautiful  we 
have  ever  looked  at  ?  The  bay  is  as  placid  as  a 
sea  of  glass,  and  the  great  red  sun  comes  up  and 
turns  this  sea  of  glass  into  a  sea  of  melted  gold. 
[64] 


A  BENGAL,  HINDU  VILLAGE. 


SCENERY    AND    SIGHTS.  65 

To  the  right  and  left  at  a  great  distance,  the  dark 
blue  coast-line  can  be  seen.  We  start  with  the 
rising  tide.  The  shores  on  either  side  begin  to 
converge,  and  soon  we  are  in  the  channel  of  the 
river,  and  flying  up  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  miles 
an  hour.  Objects  on  both  banks  can  be  distinctly 
seen.  I  said  to  my  wife,  who  had  been  in  India 
before,  "Wife,  what  a  lot  of  hay  the  people  in 
this  country  must  use. "  She  said,  "What  makes 
you  think  so  ?  "  I  replied,  "Why,  look  at  the  hay- 
stacks." "Those  are  not  haystacks;  those  are 
houses  !  "  Here  and  there  all  along  either  side  of 
the  river  might  be  seen  clusters  of  these  houses, 
some  of  them  simply  farmers'  houses,  and  some  of 
them  villages  in  which  were  shops  and  stores.  The 
thatch  which  made  the  roofs  of  these  houses,  was 
the  ' '  haystacks  "  which  I  saw.  On  the  banks  also 
could  be  seen  palm-trees,  sometimes  a  single  lonely 
tree,  and  sometimes  clusters  of  palms, —  palms  of 
various  kinds,  as  date,  palmyra,  and  coconut. 
Here  was  a  grove  of  mango-trees,  and  there  an 
orchard  of  bananas,  and  yonder  clusters  of  beau- 
tiful, feathery  bamboos. 

And  such  a  scene  on  the  river  !  Great  ocean 
steamers  from  almost  every  country  in  the  world, 
large  ships  being  towed  up  and  down  by  giant  tug- 
boats, and  native  crafts  of  all  kinds.  Sometimes 
we  would  pass  two  native  boats  fastened  together, 
leaded  with  straw,  and  so  loaded  that  nothing  of  the 
boat  was  visible  except  the  scaffolding  at  the  hinder 
5 


66  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

end,  upon  which  the  man  stood  who  held  the  long 
oar  used  for  a  rudder  ;  and  sometimes  boats  loaded 
almost  to  the  water's  edge  with  native  pottery, 
brick,  fruits,  etc.  Sometimes  they  were  propelled 
by  all  but  naked  oarsmen  walking  back  and  forth 
upon  the  prow,  as  they  pulled  the  huge  oars, 
and  sometimes  by  sails, —  square,  oblong,  or  three- 
cornered  ;  black,  white,  or  yellow  ;  whole,  patched, 
or  in  tatters.  As  we  approached  Calcutta,  the 
river  was  fairly  alive  with  steamboats  of  smaller 
burden.  Some  of  these  were  bound  up  the  river 
for  Assam,  and  others  up  the  various  rivers  form- 
ing the  delta  of  the  Ganges,  while  still  others  were 
coasting  steamers. 

At  length  our  steamer  fastens  to  the  buoy,  and 
we  are  immediately  surrounded  by  a  score  or  more 
of  small  native  boats  —  dingeys  and  green  boats. 
The  boatmen  swarm  upon  the  deck,  notwithstand- 
ing kicks  and  cuffs  from  the  officers  of  the  steamer, 
and  in  an  unknown  tongue  begin  to  talk  to  us. 
They  want  to  take  us  ashore,  and  in  due  time  we 
are  landed  on  the  bank.  Literally  hundreds  of 
coolies  are  waiting  here,  and  each  wants  a  hand  in 
taking  our  things.  We  become  almost  distracted 
in  the  Babel  of  noise.  Here,  too,  stands  the  tikka 
garrie  (carriage  for  hire),  and  each  driver  clamors 
for  our  luggage,  and  unless  we  look  sharp,  will  get 
a  portion  of  it. 

And  now  we  are  in  Calcutta,  the  capital  of 
British  India,  and  in  many  respects  one  of  the 


SCENERY   AND    SIGHTS.  6/ 

most  wonderful  of  cities.  It,  with  Howrah  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  contains  a  population  of 
nearly  a  million  people.  This  city  is  not  easily 
described,  but  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated. 
There  are  street-cars  and  ox-carts,  beautiful  car- 
riages containing  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the 
highest  social  position,  and  all  but  naked  coolies, 
side  by  side.  Here  is  a  palace,  in  which  are  all  the 
luxuries  and  beauties  which  wealth  and  a  refined 
taste  suggest ;  and  within  fifty  feet  the  watchmen 
e,t  the  gate,  cooking,  eating,  and  sleeping  in  a  room 
eight  feet  square.  Here  are  most  magnificent 
European  stores,  and  but  a  few  feet  away,  a  native 
sitting  in  a  little  room  dealing  out  his  wares. 
Here  are  the  Eden  gardens  with  electric  lights, 
fountains,  and  exquisite  music  furnished  by  the 
viceroy's  band  ;  and  not  far  distant  the  vender  of 
native  sweets  in  his  shanty,  sitting  over  his  pot  of 
boiling  oil,  making  his  candies.  Here  is  a  French 
theater,  and  almost  across  the  street,  is  Chandnee 
bazaar,  with  its  hundreds  of  tile-roofed  one-story 
shops,  and  labyrinth  of  streets  not  more  than  four 
feet  wide.  From  narrow  Bentick  street,  with  its 
numerous  Chinese  shops  and  the  rattle  and  din  of 
native  life,  you  come  out  on  the  great  beautiful 
Maidan.  This  latter  is  an  open  park  consisting  of 
many  hundreds  of  acres  of  land,  lying  between 
Chowringee  street  and  the  river.  It  was  once  cov- 
ered with  native  villages,  but  these  were  bought  by 
the  government  and  torn  down. 


68  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

The  Maidan  is  worth  going  a  long  way  to  see.  It 
is  a  dead  level  piece  of  ground,  with  here  and  there 
a  cluster  of  trees,  and  many  beautiful  roads,  but 
is  mainly  a  grass-plot.  On  almost  any  evening  of 
the  year,  except  when  it  is  raining,  you  may  see 
every  kind  of  a  turnout  imaginable.  Some  cart- 
men  are  returning  from  their  work  with  their  little 
bullocks  and  carts.  Then  perhaps  a  Chinese  comes 
arrayed  in  red  and  green  silk,  his  long  queue  hang- 
ing down  behindi  sitting  in  his  beautiful  barouche, 
while  two  elegant  horses,  with  gold-  or  silver- 
mounted  harness,  are  driven  by  his  coachman. 
Here  comes  an  Englishman  in  his  high-wheeled 
dog-cart,  driving  at  a  breakneck  pace  ;  and  there 
another,  on  a  bicycle.  Here  come  four  Bengali 
gentlemen  with  spotless  white  clothes  on,  heads 
bare,  chains  of  heavy  gold,  studded  with  precious 
stones,  holding  their  watches  in  a  conspicuous 
place,— ^carriage,  horses,  and  harness  to  rival  the 
viceroy's,  footmen  behind  and  a  coachman  in  front. 
There  goes  a  poor  Eurasian  family,  six  of  them  in 
a  tikka  garrie.  Look  at  the  horses  ;  they  are  small 
and  poor,  and  the  harness  is  tied  together  with 
strings.  The  driver  from  his  lofty  seat  is  leaning 
forward,  making  frantic  motions  with  his  whip,  as 
if  the  whip  would  compensate  the  horses  for  the 
lack  of  grain.  But  the  scamp  does  not  intend  to 
drive  fast  ;  he  only  wants  you  to  think  he  is  driving 
the  horses  at  their  utmost  speed.  Look  over  there, 
and  you  see  two  Parsees,  erect  and  proud,  having 


SCENERY   AND   SIGHTS.  69 

on  their  peculiar  stovepipe  hats,  and  just  behind 
them  are  two  Burmese,  with  red  silk  handkerchiefs 
tied  tight  across  their  foreheads.  Here  are  some 
zenana  missionaries  in  their  phaeton,  and  yonder 
two  padries  (preachers),  while  just  beyond  are  two 
coolies,  with  large  baskets  on  their  heads,  hoping 
a  stray  job  may  turn  up.  Scattered  all  through 
this  crowd  of  people  are  the  watermen,  with  their 
leather  bags  of  water  on  their  hips,  sprinkling  the 
streets  and  trying  to  keep  the  dust  down. 

We  will  leave  Calcutta  and  take  a  trip  of  two 
hundred  miles  out  into  the  interior.  We  go  on  the 
broad  turnpike  road  before  described.  We  look  off 
to  the  right  and  left,  and  see  a  level  plain,  with 
here  and  there  what  appears  to  be  a  grove.  If  we 
look  at  this  plain  a  little  more  closely,  we  find  it  to 
be  cut  up  into  an  infinite  number  of  rice-fields, 
separated  from  each  other  by  little  dams  a  foot 
high  and  a  foot  wide.  The  fields  are  in  size  from 
two  to  twenty  rods  square.  If  we  pass  along  this 
road  in  the  month  of  May,  after  a  few  showers 
have  softened  the  surface,  we  shall  see  the  plow- 
men at  work  with  their  primitive  plows,  following 
each  other  around  the  little  field.  Sometimes  these 
plowmen  are  very  happy,  and  their  songs,  as  one 
after  another  takes  up  the  refrain,  and  their  voices 
rise  higher  and  higher,  are  very  pleasing.  If  you 
go  along  this  road  a  little  later,  you  find  the  farmers 
sowing  their  rice  ;  and,  later  still,  when  the  rains 
are  well  on  and  the  rice  well  up,  you  will  see  them 


70  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

either  transplanting  by  hand  or  plowing  up  by  the 
roots  that  which  is  growing.  The  latter  drops  to 
the  bottom  of  the  water,  takes  new  root,  and  the 
stock  of  rice  is  more  vigorous  than  it  would  other- 
wise be.  Still  later  you  see  the  field  dotted  with 
men  pulling  up  the  tares.  These  men  have  on  a 
covering  for  their  backs  and  heads  made  of  the  leaf 
of  the  palm,  which  forms  a  protection  from  the 
rains.  Stooping  as  they  must  to  weed  up  the 
grass,  nothing  but  their  legs  and  this  covering  are 
visible.  This  makes  them  look  like  huge  pelicans 
scattered  over  the  field.  Pass  along  this  road  in 
December,  and  you  see  men  and  women  with 
sickles  cutting  the  ripened  grain,  and  bullocks 
bearing  it  away  on  their  backs  to  the  house.  If 
you  go  to  what  appeared  from  the  road  to  be  a 
grove,  you  will  find  it  to  be  a  village  —  simply  a 
cluster  of  farmhouses.  Let  us  now  enter  the  vil- 
lage along  with  the  farmer  who  at  evening  is  bring- 
ing in  his  sheaves.  We  find  that  he  has  around  his 
house  and  yard  a  hedge  made  of  the  most  thorny 
material  he  can  find.  Through  the  opening  which 
is  used  as  a  gateway,  his  bullocks  go,  and  their 
loads  are  dumped  promiscuously  around  the  door- 
yard.  In  this  yard  the  rice  is  stacked,  and  here  it 
is  also  trodden  out  by  the  bullocks  after  the  har- 
vest is  all  in.  On  the  verandas  of  the  houses  a 
machine  is  constructed  called  a  dhinkie,  by  tread- 
ing on  which  the  women  hull  the  rice.  It  works 
on  the  principle  of  a  mortar  and  a  pestle.  When 


HULLING  RICE. 


BULLOCKS  TAKING  RICK  TO  MAKKKT. 


SCENERY   AND   SIGHTS.  /I 

they  press  down  with  their  feet,  the  pestle  is 
raised,  and  when  they  slip  off  their  feet,  it  drops" 
into  the  mortar.  Long  before  daylight,  through 
the  winter  season,  the  sound  of  these  dhinkies 
may  be  heard  in  every  village.  . 

Now  that  we  are  in  the  village,  let  us  look  around. 
We  find  there  is  one  street,  perhaps  ten  feet  wide, 
running  through  it.  For  centuries,  people  and  bul- 
locks have  trodden  this  same  narrow  street,  and 
the  rains  have  washed  it,  and  the  hot  winds  of 
summer  have  sent  its  fine  dust  in  clouds  into  the 
air.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  sometimes  it  is 
three  or  four  feet  lower  than  the  houses  and  yards 
on  either  side.  In  the  rains  this  street  is  often 
knee-deep  with  water  and  mud,  with  no  chance  to 
get  away  except  by  evaporation.  In  "the  yard  of 
this  farmer,  there  may  be  a  mango-tree,  and  in  the 
adjoining  yard  a  tentuli,  and  in  the  third  a  cluster 
of  bamboos.  It  is  these  trees  which  deceived  you 
at  a  distance,  and  made  you  think  you  were  seeing 
a  grove.  If  you  come  to  the  village  in  the  morn- 
ing, you  may  see  a  woman  coming  out  of  the  house, 
bearing  in  her  hands  two  earthen  water-jars.  She 
has  a  dirty  white  cotton  cloth  around  her  body  and 
over  her  head.  At  the  sight  of  you  she  turns  her 
head  and  pulls  her  cloth  over  her  face,  so  as  almost 
to  hide  it,  and  hesitates,  and  wonders  whether  she 
would  better  go  back  into  the  house  or  proceed  on 
her  errand.  You  walk  on  with  no  intention  of  mo- 
lesting her,  and  she  proceeds  to  the  village  tank. 


72  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

Do  not  suppose  that  this  tank  is  some  nice  piece  of 
stone-work,  and  that  a  cool  stream  of  living  water 
is  constantly  pouring  into  it.  It  is  simply  a  great 
hole  dug  in  the  ground  by  some  rich  gentleman, 
perhaps  five  hundred  years  ago.  It  is  replenished 
from  year  to  year  by  the  heavy  rains  of  summer. 
Every  village  must  have  its  tank,  for  there  are  few 
wells  in  this  part  of  India  ;  and  water,  and  much 
of  it,  is  a  necessity. 

Let  us  follow  the  woman,  but  at  such  a  distance 
as  not  to  attract  her  attention.  She  has  with  her, 
two,  and  possibly  three,  earthen  water-jars.  They 
are  shaped  at  the  bottom  like  the  larger  end  of  an 
egg,  and  at  the  top  have  a  mouth  three  inches  in 
diameter.  She  goes  to  the  water's  edge,  puts  down 
her  jars,  and  sits  down  herself  on  her  heels.  She 
then  takes  a  green  stick  which  she  has  brought  with 
her,  six  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  thick,  with 
one  end  of  which  she  begins  to  scrub  her  teeth. 
The  Hindus  are  said  to  be  very  clean,  and  cleaning 
the  mouth  is  among  the  necessary  things  before 
eating.  But  she  has  reason  to  clean  her  teeth,  for 
she  has  been  chewing  a  dirty  substance  called  pan, 
a  mixture  of  tobacco,  betel-nut,  spices,  and  lime, 
and  her  teeth  are  black,  and  her  lips  red.  She 
therefore  scours  her  teeth  thoroughly,  and  then 
proceeds  to  rinse  her  mouth.  When  her  teeth  are 
cleaned,  she  goes  out  a  little  way  into  the  tank, 
and  takes  her  bath  ;  for  this  is  also  a  prerequisite 
to  eating.  This  finished,  she  gets  her  water-jars, 


SCENERY   AND    SIGHTS.  73 

wades  out  a  little  farther  into  the  tank,  brushes 
away  the  dirt  with  her  hand  or  the  bottom  of  her 
jars,  fills  them  with  water,  and  takes  them  to  the 
house  to  cook  her  breakfast.  The  men  come  in 
later  from  the  field,  their  mouths  as  filthy,  and 
their  bodies  more  dusty,  and  go  through  the  same 
process  of  purification.  They  are  then  prepared  to 
eat  the  breakfast  which  the  tidy  housewife  has 
prepared  for  them.  In  some  villages  there  are 
separate  tanks  in  which  to  bathe,  but  I  should  say 
this  was  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

All  the  plains  are  not  rice-fields.  Some  of  them 
are  barren  and  sandy,  and  produce  little  more  than 
thorny  bushes,  stunted  grass,  and  huge  hills  of 
white  ants,  with  here  and  there  a  solitary  tree. 
Other  places  are  quite  heavily  wooded,  sometimes 
with  a  thick  undergrowth  of  vines  and  brambles, 
and  sometimes  not.  Along  the  coast  are  other 
kinds  of  jungles.  In  these  grow  tall  grass  and 
reeds,  and  a  kind  of  stunted  palm,  and  the  whole 
is  covered  at  times  with  water  from  the  river  or 
tides  from  the  sea.  Here  is  a  hiding  place  for 
tigers,  leopards,  and  hyenas. 

Large  rivers  are  abundant,  and  we  cross  them 
either  in  a  ferry-  or  a  row-boat,  in  going  down  the 
great  turnpike  road  over  which  we  are  traveling. 

Within  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  of  Cal- 
cutta, is  Darjiling.  Between  the  plains  of  Bengal 
and  the  mountains  of  Darjiling,  the  contrast  is  as 
great  as  can  be  imagined,  as  to  both  climate  and 


74  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

scenery.  These  two  places  may  illustrate  the  dif- 
ference between  the  plains  and  the  mountains  in 
other  parts  of  India.  Silaguri  is  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  miles  north  of  Calcutta,  and  is  the  railroad 
station  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains. 
Here  we  take  a  very  narrow-gage  road,  and  climb 
the  hills  for  a  distance  of  forty-eight  miles,  the  first 
forty-four  of  which  have  a  grade  of  two  hundred 
feet  to  the  mile.  For  a  few  miles  out  of  Silaguri 
.the  ascent  is  gradual,  and  the  rank  vegetation  re- 
minds you  that  you  are  in  a  hot,  damp  atmosphere, 
and  on  very  rich  soil.  The  trees  have  leaves  al- 
most as  large  as  your  hat,  and  rank  vines  climb  up 
around  them  to  their  very  top,  and  then  reach  out 
their  long  arms  from  every  branch  as  if  seeking  some- 
thing else  to  cling  to.  Sometimes  they  find  it,  and 
the  trees  are  woven  together  by  these  huge  vines. 
As  we  ascend  we  see  broad  valleys  filled  with  wild 
bananas,  bamboos,  and  palm-trees  of  a  most  luxu- 
riant growth.  Farther  up,  we  find  mountain  oaks 
and  fern-trees  ;  and  still  higher,  oats,  corn,  and  po- 
tatoes are  cultivated.  On  the  broad  slopes  of  many 
of  these  mountains  there  are  tea  plantations.  We 
are  greeted  with  the  face  of  the  old  familiar  yellow 
dock,  and  for  once  it  seems  like  a  friend.  Also 
patches  of  white  clover  smile  upon  us  here  and 
there.  This  also  is  the  very  paradise  for  roses. 
Our  flannels,  which  we  put  on  at  the  foot  of  the 
hills,  no  longer  feel  too  thick  ;  but  on  the  other 


SCENERY   AND    SIGHTS.  75 

hand,  we   begin  to  put  on  additional  wraps,   and 
even  then  can  hardly  keep  warm. 

The  railroad  is  a  masterpiece  of  engineering.  In 
some  places  it  goes  zigzag  up  the  mountainside  by 
running  forward  and  then  switching  back  on  a 
higher  grade  ;  in  other  places  it  forms  a  loop  at 
the  point  of  some  hill,  and  comes  back  over  its 
own  track  twenty  feet  above,  and  then  goes  on 
up  the  same  hillside  it  came  but  a  few  moments 
before.  And  so  it  works  its  way  up  these  rugged 
mountains.  Sometimes,  as  it  goes  round  a  point, 
you  grasp  the  seat  of  the  little  open  car,  for  it 
seems  as  if  you  were  going  to  be  pitched  to  the 
bottom  of  the  deep,  deep  gorge  at  your  side.  At 
Ghoompahar  you  pass  the  highest  range  on  the 
railroad,  and  for  the  next  four  miles  the  descent  is 
gradual  to  Darjiling.  This  is  the  city  where  the 
government  of  Bengal  stays  in  summer,  and  where 
the  people  sometimes  come  when  worn  out  by  the 
heat  of  the  plains.  It  is  7500  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  The  scenery  here  is  grand  beyond  de- 
scription. There  are  broad  valleys  whose  hillsides 
are  dotted  here  and  there  with  a  village,  or  with 
primeval  forests,  tea  plantations,  or  fields  of  po- 
tatoes and  corn.  There  are  gorges  through  which 
rushes  a  mountain  stream,  and  high  precipices  over 
which  leaps  a  waterfall.  Every  ravine,  and  gorge, 
and  hillside  produces  very  beautiful  ferns,  moss,  and 
lichens.  Even  trees  are  often  covered  with  these, 


/  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

and  with  orchids.  Then  the  mountains  are  around 
you  on  every  side,  and  range  is  piled  upon  range, 
until  the  climax  is  reached  in  Kinchinjinga,  which 
sends  its  peaks  up  28,000  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
On  a  clear  day  this  stands  out  before  you,  glittering 
in  the  sun  like  a  mountain  of  burnished  silver,  and 
10,000  feet  of  it  can  be  seen  lying  under  its  thick 
mantle  of  eternal  snow, —  a  fit  winding-sheet  for  a 
dead  mountain. 


M.D.  (HARV'D) 

HHAI/TH  DEFT. 

LGAJU 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SOME   OF   THE   PESTS   OF   INDIA. 

SOME  things  which  we  regard  as  pests  and  annoy- 
ances are  really  blessings.  So  it  is  with  some  of 
those  things  in  India  which  plague  us.  For  the 
time  being,  however,  we  will  take  the  superficial 
view,  and  see  what  things  annoy  us  and  how  they 
do  so. 

The  white  ant  would  no  doubt  be  put  down  at 
the  head  of  the  list.  If  this  were  the  place,  I  might 
write  a  chapter  on  these  little  animals,  but  I  will 
now  speak  of  them  only  in  the  briefest  way.  The 
eggs  which  produce  these  little  creatures  are  laid 
two  or  three  feet  underground  by  a  great  nasty 
looking  white  grub,  the  size  of  a  man's  little  finger. 
When  the  insects  are  first  hatched,  they  are  about 
an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  creamy  white  ap- 
pearance, and  resemble  a  louse  in  shape.  These 
grow  to  be  one  fourth  of  an  inch  long,  and  then 
make  their  way  through  the  streets,  avenues,  and 
halls  of  their  colony,  up  to  the  surface  of  the  ground; 
and  keep  on  building  up  until  sometimes  they  have 
a  house  eight  feet  in  diameter  and  ten  feet  high. 
They  go  here  and  there  on  foraging  expeditions, 
either  under  the  surface  or  in  sealed  arches  which 
they  construct  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  They 

[77] 


78  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

always  devour  everything  within  their  reach  which 
can  be  eaten.  Since  they  always  work  in  the  dark, 
and  on  the  inside,  we  seldom  see  their  mischief  until 
it  is  too  late  to  remedy  it.  If  they  want  to  eat  a 
straw,  or  a  bit  of  leaf  which  is  too  small  for  them 
to  eat  from  the  inside,  they  cover  it  with  their 
earthy  secretion,  and  then  devour  it.  They  can 
make  their  way  up  through  brick  walls,  and  eat 
the  door- jambs  and  wooden  beams  of  the  house. 
I  have  told  you  how  the  floors  of  the  pucca  houses 
are  made,  and  yet  these  little  creatures  will  often 
find  a  way  up  through  the  floor,  and  get  into  our 
bookcase,  and  chests,  and  trunks,  unless  we  keep 
a  strict  watch  for  them.  They  will  sometimes 
destroy  a  pair  of  shoes  in  a  single  night  if  they 
happen  to  come  across  them  in  their  search  for 
food. 

Though  they  annoy  us,  they  are  not  an  unmiti- 
gated evil ;  in  fact,  they  are  a  great  blessing.  For 
thousands  of  years  they  have  brought  up  from  the 
subsoil  their  secretion  and  spread  it  as  a  dressing 
for  the  soil,  on  straw,  and  leaf,  and  dead  grass. 
When,  in  the  beginning  of  the  rains,  they  change 
their  form,  and  come  from  their  nests  by  millions, 
it  is  a  happy  time  for  birds  and  fishes.  They  are 
enlarged  to  four  or  five  times  their  former  size 
when  they  swarm,  put  on  wings,  and  seem  happy 
for  a  brief  hour.  Their  wings  come  off,  and  they 
drop  in  field,  or  road,  or  ditch,  or  tank,  and  birds 
and  fishes  feast  for  once  at  least. 


THE    PESTS    OF    INDIA.  79 

The  crows  would  come  next.  They  are  as  nearly 
omnipresent  as  anything  with  earthly  limitations 
can  be.  The  cawing  of  the  crow  very  early  awak- 
ens the  villager  from  his  sleep,  and  reminds  the 
missionary  or  civilian,  -who  may,  perchance,  be 
dreaming  of  home,  that  he  is  still  in  India.  It  is 
not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  one  or  two  crows  on 
the  back  of  cows  or  bullocks  as  they  graze  in  the 
field.  There  seems  to  be  something  in  the  skin, 
or  lurking  in  the  hair,  which  furnishes  the  crow 
a  dainty  morsel.  When  these  same  animals  lie 
down,  we  may  see  the  crow  picking  at  their  noses 
and  inside  of  their  ears.  When  the  animal  pro- 
tests, the  crow  hops  back,  takes  a  look  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye,  and  watches  his  chance  to  renew 
the  attack. 

When  we  feed  our  hens  or  cattle,  we  must 
look  sharp,  or  the  crow  will  get  more  than  his 
share.  When  the  man  is  setting  the  table,  a  crow 
may  perch  himself  on  the  top  of  the  open  door,  and 
watch  the  process.  He  will  turn  his  head  to  one 
side  and  then  to  the  other  to  see  how  many  things 
there  are  that  he  would  be  willing  to  eat.  When 
he  sees  something  which  he  would  like,  and  which 
he  thinks  he  could  carry,  he  looks  all  around  to  see 
if  the  coast  is  clear  ;  and  when  he  satisfies  himself 
that  such  is  the  case,  he  swoops  down,  and  with 
his  beak  or  claw  carries  his  meal  up  into  a  tree  or 
some  other  safe  place. 

One  morning  I  bought  from  one  of  our  Christian 


8O  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

women  some  eggs  which  she  put  on  my  study  table. 
I  was  writing,  and  would  now  and  again  get  up  to 
go  into  another  room  or  out-of-doors.  I  finally 
noticed  that  the  number  of  eggs  seemed  less,  but 
there  were  no  broken  shells  nor  any  evidence  that 
anybody  had  been  in  the  study.  Finally,  a  crow 
making  off  with  one  just  as  I  came  into  the  room, 
convinced  me  who  was  the  thief.  The  crows  are 
fond  of  ripe  fruit  of  all  kinds,  so  that  fruit  must  be 
picked  before  it  is  fully  ripe,  or  be  watched  very 
closely.  Woe  betide  you  if  for  any  reason  you 
shoot  one  of  these  birds.  In  a  very  few  moments 
the  air  will  be  black  with  crows,  flying  here  and 
there  in  a  frantic  manner,  and  cawing  so  loudly 
that  you  expect  to  see  your  neighbor  come  in  to  see 
what  has  happened.  But  even  these  are  a  bless- 
ing, for  they  are  one  of  the  scavengers  of  the 
country. 

Monkeys  are  a  pest  with  no  redeeming  quality 
that  I  could  ever  observe.  There  are  many  varie- 
ties in  the  country,  and  each  particular  place  seems 
to  have  some  different  variety  ;  but  they  are  a  nui- 
sance be  the  kind  what  it  may.  The  Hindus  adore 
them,  so  their  life  is  quite  safe,  as  no  person  cares 
to  kill  them,  and  incur  the  displeasure  of  his  Hindu 
neighbor.  In  our  part  of  India,  the  large,  black- 
faced,  gray,  long-tailed  monkey,  abounded.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  fruit  or  vegetable  line  that  these 
monkeys  will  not  eat,  so  we  must  wage  a  constant 
war  with  them  if  we  would  have  a  garden  or  an 


THE    PESTS   OF    INDIA.  8 1 

orchard.  They  are  exceedingly  cunning.  In  the 
heat  of  the  day  when  they  think  everybody  is  tak- 
ing a  nap,  they  are  after  their  dinner.  They  en- 
ter the  garden  stealthily,  looking  one  side  and 
the  other  as  they  come.  When  they  come  to  a 
row  of  peas  or  anything  of  that  kind,  they  stand  on 
their  hind  feet,  and  with  both  front  ones  quickly 
fill  their  mouths.  A  few  monkeys  in  half  a  day 
would  utterly  ruin  a  garden,  or  strip  an  orchard  of 
its  fruit.  They  are  very  saucy  at  times,  and  even 
dangerous. 

One  day,  at  the  noon  hour,  while  we  were  rest- 
ing, one  of  our  little  girls  came  into  our  room 
screaming  and  frightened  almost  to  death.  A  large 
monkey  had  come  into  the  bedroom  where  she 
was  sleeping,  though  it  was  up-stairs,  and  taken 
hold  of  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  shaken  it  violently 
enough  to  wake  her  up.  When  she  awoke,  there 
stood  that  great  black-faced  fellow,  showing  all  his 
teeth.  Hindu  prejudice  would  not  have  kept  me 
from  shooting  him  if  he  had  not  left  the  room  too 
quickly  for  me.  They  will  sometimes  dispute  our 
right  to  pass  along  a  path.  In  that  case  discretion 
is  the  better  part  of  valor.  Once  some  of  our  or- 
phan boys  at  Midnapore  were  stoning  some  mon- 
keys which  were  up  in  a  banian-tree.  One  old 
fellow  came  down,  walked  up  to  the  foremost  boy, 
seized  him  by  the  shoulder  with  one  hand,  and 
with  the  other  boxed  his  ears.  The  boy  was  fright- 
ened badly,  but  the  monkey  was  perfectly  serene. 
6 


82  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

Snakes  are  reptiles  which  people  are  not  fond 
of  as  a  rule.  In  this  country  we  have  an  exag- 
gerated idea  of  the  snakes  of  India.  There  may 
be  places  where  they  are  numerous,  but  I  have  not 
seen  them.  The  cobra  is  a  dangerous  snake,  so 
that  Europeans  generally  carry  a  lantern  when 
they  go  out  after  dark ;  but  after  all,  you  will 
seldom  see  one.  We  are  cautious  because  their 
bite  is  fatal.  I  have  been  around  a  good  deal  in 
Orissa  and  Bengal,  and  have  not,  in  ten  years, 
seen  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  cobras  running  at 
large. 

There  are  some  centipedes  and  a  few  scorpions, 
but  with  care  one  need  experience  no  harm  from 
them.  Only  once  in  the  ten  years  I  have  been  in 
India,  was  I  bitten  by  any  of  these  poisonous  rep- 
tiles, and  that  was  by  a  centipede  which  was  in  my 
hat.  He  had  secreted  himself  within  the  walls  of 
my  sunhat,  and  I  did  not  know  he  was  there  until 
he  informed  me. 

We  never  really  know  why  dogs  are  spoken  of 
in  Scripture  as  being  among  the  vile  things  which 
shall  never  enter  the  gates  of  the  beautiful  city, 
until  we  visit  the  Orient.  There  is  not  a  redeeming 
quality  about  a  dog  here.  You  could  not  by  any 
possibility  induce  one  to  drive  out  a  cow  or  a 
monkey  from  the  garden.  He  never  did  such  a 
thing  in  his  life,  and  would  be  astonished  at  you  if 
you  should  try  to  have  him  do  such  a  thing.  The 
more  you  tried  to  have  him,  the  more  he  would  go 


THE    PESTS    OF    INDIA.  83 

in  the  opposite  direction.  The  dogs  here  are  nearly 
all  of  one  kind,  yellow  or  black  in  color,  with  hair 
short  and  straight,  nose  pointed,  forehead  very 
receding,  head  and  tail  drooping,  lean,  surly,  and 
often  scabby.  They  never  have  a  pleasant  face  or 
a  wag  of  the  tail  for  anybody.  They  leisurely  walk 
about  the  streets  and  bazaars,  and  even  into  our 
houses,  ready  to  pick  up  any  stray  morsel  of  food. 
The  natives  have  a  way  of  raising  their  hands  as 
if  they  would  strike  them,  but  as  they  seldom  do, 
the  dogs  care  very  little  for  these  false  motions. 
When  we  try  to  frighten  them  away  in  the  same 
manner,  they  simply  stand  and  stare  at  us.  When, 
however,  we  can  convince  them  by  a  whack  with 
our  cane  that  we  are  not  making  false  motions, 
they  can  yelp  and  howl  as  loudly  as  any  dog. 
Their  bark  at  night  is  anything  but  soothing,  and 
especially  if  a  person  is  inclined,  through  fever  or 
nervousness,  to  be  wakeful.  One  barks,  and  then 
another,  and  another,  until  you  think  they  are  bark- 
•ing  for  a  prize  ;  and  the  one  that  can  bark  the  loud- 
est and  longest  gets  it.  The  bark  is  not  really  a 
bark  such  as  we  hear  in  this  country,  but  more  of 
a  howl.  They  do  something  of  the  work  of  the 
scavengers,  but  the  jackals  could  do  that  better, 
and  save  the  annoyances  the  dogs  bring.  Many  of 
them  are  owned  by  no  one.  The  Hindus  never  kill 
anything,  so  of  course  the  dogs  are  allowed  to  mul- 
tiply as  much  as  they  like.  The  government  re- 
cognizes them  as  a  nuisance,  and  very  wisely  puts  a 


84  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

bounty  on  their  heads.  Once  a  year  the  low  caste 
people  (maters}  in  some  districts  set  apart  a  day  for 
killing  dogs.  They  will  take  a  large  bamboo  club 
which  they  hold  by  both  hands,  allowing  it  to  hang 
down  their  backs.  In  this  way  they  walk  about  the 
streets  and  bazaars.  The  dog  sees  nothing  of  the 
club,  as  they  manage  to  keep  their  faces  toward 
him.  They  wait  until  his  attention  is  taken  up  by 
something  to  eat  or  smell,  when  they  suddenly 
bring  the  club  down  with  great  force  on  the  neck 
of  the  unsuspecting  animal,  and  he  soon  dies. 

The  Brahmani  bull  may  be  classed  among  the 
pests.  Some  one,  perhaps  on  account  of  some 
peculiar  markings,  has  in  his  early  days  devoted 
him  to  the  calling  of  a  sacred  bull,  and  so  he  has 
wandered  about  through  the  streets,  belonging  to 
no  one  in  particular,  and  to  every  one  in  general. 
He  usually  is  found  around  the  temple,  and  goes 
in  and  out  at  pleasure.  He  goes  into  the  green 
rice-fields,  or  to  the  shop  where  grain  is  kept,  and 
helps  himself.  He  of  course  is  always  fat  and 
saucy.  If  he  sees  in  the  garden  of  some  Euro- 
pean some  choice  heads  of  cabbage,  he  forms  his 
plans  for  a  feast  when  the  shades  of  night  shall  set- 
tle down.  One  of  these  animals  persistently  visited 
our  garden  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  until  finally, 
upon  the  advice  of  the  magistrate,  we  captured  him 
and  made  him  over  to  the  city.  His  lordship  was 
greatly  humbled  when  he  had  to  come  down  to 
drawing  cart  loads  of  garbage. 


THE    PESTS    OF    INDIA.  85 

There  are  some  other  things  which  greatly  annoy 
us,  but  which  are  not  peculiar  to  India  except  per- 
haps that  they  flourish  there  to  a  greater  extent. 
Among  these  are  the  little  red  ant,  the  mosquito, 
lice,  bedbugs,  and  fleas.  Some  of  these,  more  or 
less,  are  liable  to  prey  upon  us  the  year  round. 
Every  European,  the  year  round,  provides  him- 
self with  a  mosquito  curtain  for  his  bed.  This 
protects  him  fully  from  the  mosquito,  unless  some 
unfortunate  member  of  the  body  happens  to  be 
against  it,  but  unfortunately  affords  no  protection 
against  the  unmentionable  insects  referred  to 
above. 

In  some  places  tigers  and  leopards  are  quite 
abundant.  These  destroy  cattle,  and  sometimes 
human  life,  though  as  a  rule  they  do  not  molest 
people,  unless  sorely  pressed  by  hunger,  but  run 
from  them  as  do  all  other  wild  animals.  The 
bear  is  very  fond  of  sugar-cane,  and  comes  from 
the  jungles  to  help  himself  during  the  season.  In 
a  few  places  wild  elephants  commit  depredations 
now  and  again.  After  all,  these  things  sound  a 
good  deal  worse  than  the  actual  experience  with 
them  really  is. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SOME   CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   NATIVES. 

DIFFERENT  parts  of  India,  no  doubt,  produce 
different  types  of  men,  but  what  I  shall  say  will  be 
of  the  Bengali,  as  I  have  observed  him. 

He  is  exceedingly  polite,  and  as  a  rule,  does  not 
want  to  say  anything  which  he  thinks  you  will  not 
want  to  hear.  This  leads  him  many  times  into 
telling  what  we  call  lies,  though  he  does  not  define 
a  lie  in  that  way.  As  an  example  :  Suppose  you 
are  going  along  a  strange  road,  and  inquire  of  a 
man  the  distance  to  a  certain  place.  He  naturally 
thinks  you  want  that  distance  to  be  as  little  as 
possible,  so  he  tells  you  it  is  two  miles,  when  he 
knows  it  is  six  ;  or,  he  may  raise  his  chin  in  the 
direction  of  the  place,  and  say  it  is  just  in  sight, 
when  it  is  four  miles  away.  For  this  same  reason 
he  seldom  disagrees  with  you.  If  he  cannot  really 
assent,  he  will  keep  quiet.  In  a  public  way  some 
of  them  are  fond  of  discussion,  but  in  their  homes 
they  seldom  oppose  you.  This  disposition  makes 
you  feel  that  you  can  seldom  depend  on  what  they 
say.  When  we  were  trying  to  get  land  to  erect  a 
mission  house  in  Contai,  I  went  to  see  the  sub- 
divisional  officer,  and  told  him  what  we  wanted  to 
do.  He  said  that  he  was  delighted  that  we  were 
[86] 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   NATIVES.  87 

coming,  that  Contai  was  a  wicked  place  and  needed 
something  of  the  kind,  and  he  would  be  pleased  to 
assist  in  any  way  that  lay  in  his  power.  I  thanked 
him  very  heartily,  but  was  sure  all  the  time  he 
would  not  help,  but  hinder.  And  so  the  sequel 
proved  ;  for  we  had  to  get  help  from  the  English 
magistrate,  or  impediments  would  have  been  placed 
in  our  way  all  along,  and  we  would  never  have  gone 
to  Contai.  We  call  this  kind  of  talk  lying,  but  they 
define  a  lie  as  meaning  something  like  this :  If  I 
tell  you  something,  and  you  sustain  financial  loss 
through  my  untrue  statement,  that  is  a  lie ;  but  if 
I  tell  you  the  distance  is  two  miles  when  it  is  four, 
that  is  no  lie,  for  you  would  have  to  travel  over  the 
distance  whether  it  was  two  or  four  miles.  Their 
saying  it  was  two  miles  did  not  cause  me  any  addi- 
tional travel.  This  disposition  to  please  is  promi- 
nent when  self-interest  is  not  involved.  Always  put 
this  down  as  an  exception  to  every  rule.  Accord- 
ing to  our  ideas,  the  native  is  a  very  untruthful 
man.  Dr.  Pentecost  made  this  statement,  though 
in  little  stronger  terms,  and  was  taken  to  task  by 
the  native  press  for  it.  I  think  Dr.  Pentecost  was 
not  far  wrong.  If  I  had  had  no  experience  myself, 
the  attitude  of  the  people  toward  each  other  would 
convince  me  of  this.  They  seldom  trust  each 
other's  word.  In  matters  of  business  they  have 
so  little  confidence  in  each  other  that  a  bargain  is 
considered  of  no  value  until  money  has  exchanged 
hands.  A  man  may  agree  to  do  a  thing,  but  if  you 


88  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

have  given  him  no  money,  he  considers  himself 
under  no  obligation  to  do  it.  They  say  of  us  some- 
times, ' '  You  are  very  green, "  because  we  trust  their 
word,  and  that  we  ought  to  know  that  all  men  are 
liars.  I  do  not  say  that  they  are  all  vicious  liars, 
but  the  tendency  is  so  much  to  conceal,  and  there 
is  so  much  want  of  frankness,  that  it  is  unsafe  to 
depend  upon  their  word.  Out  of  this  has  grown 
their  way  of  answering  a  question.  We  seldom 
hear  them  answer  a  question  direct.  Almost 
always  it  is  answered  by  asking  another.  You  say 
to  a  man,  "Will  you  buy  this  cow?"  "Where 
would  I  get  money  to  buy  a  cow  ?  "  he  would  an- 
swer. Or  you  say,  "You  did  not  come  to  work 
yesterday  ? "  He  would  reply,  "  How  could  a  man 
work  who  had  a  fever  ? "  This  sounds  impertinent, 
and  is  very  trying  at  first,  but  you  find  this  is  their 
way  of  answering  questions.  The  manner  in  which 
they  can  ask  and  answer  questions  without  fully 
committing  themselves,  is  simply  marvelous  to  the 
people  of  the  blunt,  plain,  practical  nature  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon. 

In  matters  of  deal  they  are  without  a  conscience. 
The  limit  they  will  ask  for  a  thing  is  the  amount  they 
think  they  can  get  for  it,  regardless  of  its  market 
value.  This  is  nearly  a  universal  rule.  We  think 
a  man  a  Jew  here  if  he  add  twenty-five  per  cent,  to 
his  real  taking  price ;  but  it  is  not  an  uncommon 
thing  for  them  to  ask  three  hundred  per  cent,  more 
than  they  expect  to  take.  This  is  especially  true 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE   NATIVES.  89 

if  they  think  you  do  not  know  the  real  price,  or  if 
you  are  so  situated  that  they  know  you  must  buy. 
The  general  rule  is  that  they  ask  you  just  double 
what  they  in  the  end  expect  to  take.  They  are 
very  shrewd  in  bargains,  and  resort  to  many  tricks 
to  make  a  few  cents.  They  can  adulterate  equal 
to  the  Yankee  in  some  things.  Water  goes  in 
milk,  small  gravel  in  rice,  and  sand  in  sugar.  They 
can  fill  their  native  fabrics  with  starch,  and  put 
putty  in  defective  furniture.  They  have  studied 
the  art  for  centuries,  and  according  to  the  number 
of  their  products,  will  not  be  outdone  by  any  other 
nation.  If  they  are  very  untruthful,  they  also  have 
a  faculty  of  getting  out,  when  caught  in  a  lie,  as 
easily  as  can  be.  In  fact,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  prove  a  falsehood  in  any  of  them.  You  may 
think  you  have  a  chain  of  evidence  that  will  surely 
convict  the  man  of  a  wilful,  deliberate  lie,  but  you 
find  your  chain  a  rope  of  sand,  and  you  are  left 
in  the  dilemma  rather  than  the  man  that  has 
lied,  even  though  your  own  eyes  form  part  of  the 
evidence. 

They  have  very  little  inventive  genius,  and  hence 
are  no  organizers.  They  are  imitators,  and  can 
make  almost  everything,  if  you  give  them  a  pattern. 
We  find  them  in  machine-shops  making  engines, 
and  in  various  avocations  where  one  would  think 
genius  was  required  ;  but  they  work  from  patterns. 
They  have  had  armies  large  enough  to  have  anni- 
hilated the  English,  but  could  not  plan  a  battle. 


9O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

They  can  run  steamboats  and  railroad  trains,  but 
they  can  go  only  so  far  as  they  have  learned.  If 
the  unexpected  arises,  they  are  in  a  dilemma.  If  a 
cartman  break  the  axle  of  his  cart  when  he  does 
not  happen  to  have  another  with  him,  he  will  squat 
down  and  put  a  sheet  over  his  head,  if  it  be  winter, 
and  there  he  will  sit  for  hours  waiting  for  something 
to  turn  up.  He  really  does  not  know  what  to  do, 
and  it  takes  several  hours  for  the  idea  to  get  through 
his  head,  that  he  must  go  to  some  village  and  hunt 
up  another  axle. 

Revenge  is  a  disposition  abnormally  cultivated, 
and  it  lurks  in  the  bosom  where  you  least  suspect 
it.  A  family  feud  is  handed  down  fourteen  genera- 
tions. For  the  sake  of  getting  revenge  for  a  tri- 
fling injury,  they  will  jeopardize  a  person's  life. 
Sometimes  they  will  set  fire  to  one's  house,  and  the 
roof  being  of  straw,  it  may  happen  that  the  inmates 
cannot  escape,  but  are  consumed  in  the  burning 
building  ;  and  if  they  escape,  their  all  is  gone  in  the 
loss  of  their  house.  The  most  serious  charges  are 
brought  in  court  for  the  sake  of  being  revenged 
over  some  real  or  fancied  injury. 

The  Hindus  are  proverbial  for  going  to  law. 
Two  things  actuate  them  ;  one  is  the  desire  for 
revenge,  and  the  other,  the  love  of  distinction. 
Just  opposite  our  house  in  Balasore  were  two  court- 
houses, in  which  there  were  at  least  five  places 
where  cases  might  be  tried.  These  courts  were 
filled  the  year  round.  Not  that  all  the  courts  were 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF   THE    NATIVES.  9! 

in  session  all  the  time,  but  some  of  them  were, 
and  often  three  or  four  of  them.  Aside  from  these, 
the  judge  came  occasionally  to  hold  criminal  courts 
of  a  higher  grade  in  the  circuit  house.  From  morn- 
ing until  night,  week  in  and  week  out,  the  cry  of 
the  crier  could  be  heard  as  he  called  out  the  name 
of  parties  in  the  case,  or  the  name  of  some  witness 
A  man  hardly  thinks  he  belongs  to  a  respectable 
family  unless  he  can  boast  of  at  least  one  long- 
drawn-out  lawsuit.  I  shall  remember  a  long  time 
a  conversation  I  had  with  one  of  our  new  con- 
verts. He  had  been  a  poor  man  and  common 
laborer,  but  had  married  a  woman  who  also  had 
employment.  The  two  received  a  good  salary,  so 
that  he  could  lay  by  a  dollar  a  month.  He  had 
been  working  for  me,  but  did  not  come  for  some 
days.  Finally,  when  he  came,  I  asked  him,  why 
he  had  not  come  the  past  week.  He  straightened 
up  as  if  he  were  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of  impor- 
tance, and  said,  "  Sahib,  I  have  a  lawsuit  on  hand." 
The  inconvenience  the  people  suffer  on  account  of 
these  cases  is  very  great.  They  will  walk  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  to  be  present  on  the  appointed  day 
for  their  suit,  and  then  wait  perhaps  two  or  three 
days  for  their  case  to  be  called  up.  They  have 
little  money  to  use,  and  many  times  have  hard  fare 
during  the  days  of  waiting.  Especially  is  this  true 
in  the  case  of  many  witnesses.  When  the  case  is 
called,  for  some  trivial  reason,  it  is  postponed  ten 
days  or  a  month,  when  all  wend  their  way  home  to 


92  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

return  again  on  the  appointed  day.  Then,  again, 
it  may  be  postponed,  and  so  on  it  goes  month  after 
month,  until  sometimes  a  whole  year  is  consumed 
in  this  kind  of  work.  The  satisfaction  that  each 
party  gets  out  of  it  is,  that  the  other  party  suffers 
as  much  through  these  long  journeys  and  tedious 
waitings  as  they.  Every  time  the  case  is  post- 
poned, there  is  an  additional  cost. 

The  lawyers  have  a  habit  of  receiving  a  fee  from 
each  side.  I  think  this  is  peculiar  to  India.  If 
they  are  in  a  lawsuit,  they  think  if  they  can  fee 
their  opponent's  lawyer  with  a  larger  amount  than 
he  can,  the  lawyer  will  be  more  interested  in  their 
case  than  he  will  in  the  case  of  his  client. 

There  are  persons  also  lounging  around  court- 
houses whose  only  occupation  is  giving  testimony 
in  court.  For  twenty-five  cents  you  can  hire  them 
to  swear  to  anything  you  desire.  In  the  census 
returns  of  1 890,  a  large  number  gave  this  as  their 
only  occupation.  Little  justice  is  found  in  the 
courts,  for,  in  the  first  place,  you  cannot  believe 
the  testimony.  A  magistrate  in  Balasore  told  me 
he  never  pretended  to  believe  the  witnesses.  He 
simply  listened  to  both  sides,  and  then  made  up 
his  mind  what  he  thought  might  be  probable. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  many  of  the  native  mag- 
istrates will  accept  bribes  in  one  way  or  another. 
English  officials  do  their  best  to  prevent  bribery 
and  corruption,  but  the  tide  is  very  strong  in  the 
other  direction. 


CHARACTERISTICS   OF    THE    NATIVES.  93 

The  people  are  slaves  to  custom.  All  that  need 
be  said  by  you  as  a  reason  for  doing  what  you  do, 
is,  "This  is  our  custom."  This  puts  a  stop  to  any 
argument.  You  will  very  seldom  hear  any  other 
reason  given  for  doing  anything.  This  of  course 
obstructs  all  progress.  I  was  very  well  acquainted 
with  a  native  judge  in  Midnapore,  and  had  frequent 
conversations  with  him  on  different  subjects.  He 
was  a  well-educated  man,  and  spoke  English  flu- 
ently. I  asked  him  one  day  what  his  opinion  was 
in  regard  to  child  marriage.  He  could  not  speak 
too  strongly  against  it.  He  was  sure  the  race  was 
enfeebled  by  it,  the  mortality  of  the  country  in- 
creased, and  a  great  deal  of  mental  and  physical 
suffering  inflicted  on  the  young  child  wife.  I  knew 
the  judge  had  two  or  three  young  daughters,  so  I 
said,  ' '  Judge,  you  are  not  going  to  conform  to  the 
custom,  are  you  ?  you  know  what  is  right ;  I  hope 
you  will  follow  your  convictions  and  set  your  coun- 
trymen an  example. "  He  said,  "This  is  our  cus- 
tom, and  what  can  one  man  do  to  oppose  it  ?  If 
I  would  not  marry  off  my  daughters  at  the  proper 
time,  I  should  be  in  disgrace,  and  as  I  could  not 
endure  this,  I  must  do  as  the  rest  do. "  I  said,  a 
little  warmly,  ' '  Judge,  if  a  man  like  you,  with  both 
a  knowledge  of  what  you  ought  to  do  and  a  social 
position  that  would  help  you  greatly  if  you  at- 
tempted any  reform,  and  also  with  independent 
means,  will  not  follow  your  convictions,  who  do  you 
expect  will  lead  in  reforms?"  He  confessed  he 


94  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

ought  to,  but  could  not.  The  position  of  this  gen- 
tleman is  the  position  of  many.  Many  of  them 
would  be  glad  to  break  away  from  their  customs, 
in  some  things,  but  it  binds  them  with  a  chain  of 
steel. 

They  are  very  fond  of  display.  This  is  shown 
in  the  case  of  the  rich,  by  the  number  of  servants 
they  can  keep,  the  gold  jewelry  and  precious  stones 
they  can  wear,  and  the  dash  and  glitter  of  their 
turnout  as  they  go  for  a  drive.  It  is  seen  in  the 
poor  by  the  amount  of  jewelry  they  put  on,  even 
if  it  be  made  of  shell,  lac,  glass,  or  brass.  They 
think  the  clanking  of  the  heavy  pieces  of  their  jew- 
elry denotes  about  as  much  distinction  as  some  of 
our  ladies  do  the  rustling  of  their  silks.  On  great 
festival  days  the  streets  are  brilliant  with  the  red 
and  yellow  garments  of  the  women.  They  make 
garlands  of  large  red  and  yellow  flowers  to  festoon 
their  houses  and  adorn  their  persons. 

The  average  native  is  a  hard-working  man. 
Many  think  because  they  live  in  a  warm  climate, 
they  are  like  the  African  or  other  tribes  who  will 
only  work  when  compelled  to,  but  such  is  not  the 
case.  Indeed,  they  often  work  under  circum- 
stances that  would  try  the  pluck  of  many  an  Ameri- 
can. It  is  true  they  are  "to  the  manor  born," 
and  can  endure  heat  that  the  European  cannot, 
but  still  the  heat  affects  them,  and  the  cold  even 
more.  In  the  hot  months  they  will  get  up  and 
start  on  their  journey  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    NATIVES.  95 

ing.  This  is  a  regular  custom  among  cartmen  and 
pilgrims.  Very  early  in  the  morning,  also,  you  will 
find  them  in  their  fields.  It  is  true  there  are  lazy 
people  there  as  here,  but  they  are  the  exception. 

They  are  a  frugal  people  ;  they  love  to  make  a 
display,  it  is  true,  but  that  is  only  on  occasions. 
They  have  big  dinners  for  friends  and  kinsmen,  but 
these  are  not  frequent.  Ordinarily  their  meals  are 
of  the  plainest  kind,  and  their  dress  of  but  little  ex- 
pense. Though  most  of  them  are  poor,  they  try 
very  hard  to  lay  by  something  for  a  time  of  still 
sorer  need.  This  is  not  laid  by  in  money  but 
jewelry,  which  can  always  be  sold  for  the  market 
value  of  the  gold  or  silver  it  contains.  They  will 
pinch  themselves,  and  almost  starve  before  they 
will  draw  on  their  little  store  laid  by. 

Many  of  them  are  very  anxious  for  an  education, 
and  especially  an  English  education.  In  Madras 
many  of  the  common  coolies  can  speak  English 
fairly  well,  and  in  Calcutta  almost  all  native  mer- 
chants have  a  fair  knowledge  of  English.  They 
are  also  very  fond  of  airing  their  English,  and  some 
use  it  very  amusingly,  as  the  following  letter,  writ- 
ten by  a  Bengali  babu  to  Dr.  O.  R.  Bachelor,  of 
Midnapore,  will  show  :  — 

"Mv  DEAR  GODFATHER:  My  registered  note  addressed  to  your 
name  has  been  sent  by  post  to  Midnapore  during  you  had  gone  to 
America.  An  answer  which  gave  by  Mr.  Z.  F.  Griffin  gave  me  much 
sorrow,  for  your  answer  reached  me  at  that  time.  In  the  November 
last  an  information  has  been  given  me  by  Mr.  Coldren  at  Balasore  of 
your  returning  from  there  to  Midnapore.  Therefore  I  send  this 


96  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

registered  note  for  your  answer.  It  is  proposed  by  many  learned 
and  gentlemen  of  your  kindness  to  helpless  men  in  their  wants,  de- 
pending on  their  saying,  I  am  going  most  respectfully  to  inform  you 
my  want.  I  have  descended  from  a  Hindu  tribe  ;  forty-five  years 
of  my  age,  my  mother  was  put  at  the  point  of  death.  My  father  is 
always  unkind  and  surly  fellow.  .  .  .  You  will  be  remarkable  to 
the  story  of  my  much  above  mentioned  that  his  principal  duty  is  that 
his  sons  will  be  dunce.  .  .  .  My  godfather,  you  shall  have  tried  to 
get  post  under  the  police  and  postal  department.  I  hope  if  you 
kindly  recommend  the  superintendent  of  these  offices,  they  must  ap- 
point me  at  any  post  of  my  worthy.  It  is  very  important  to  let  you 
know  that  you  should  not  hate  me  though  being  a  Hindu.  I  am 
going  to  want  your  true  refuge.  I  may  be  baptized  after  which  if  I 
will  be  had  any  post  under  my  office.  If  you  please  and  kindly  try 
get  me  a  post  without  preachership,  I  will  be  baptized  unless  I 
cannot.  .  .  . 

"  I  am  your  dear  godson, 


They  do  not  care  for  knowledge  so  much  for  its 
own  sake,  as  for  what  it  will  bring  to  them  finan- 
cially. The  great  ambition  is  to  pass  the  entrance 
examination  in  the  university,  or  to  try  to  pass. 
They  will  boast  as  loudly  of  having  tried  and  failed, 
as  of  having  tried  and  succeeded.  After  passing 
and  receiving  an  appointment,  they  seem  to  think 
they  have  reached  the  goal.  They  seldom  continue 
any  course  of  study,  but  pass  their  time  after  office 
hours  in  conversation  or  games. 

They  have  remarkable  memories.  Away  back 
thousands  of  years  ago  they  learned  their  sacred 
books,  and  handed  down  the  contents  by  memory, 
and  that  has  to  some  extent  been  kept  up  all 
through  the  centuries.  The  priests  begin  very 
early  in  life  to  commit  the  shasters,  and  they  can 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    NATIVES.  97 

sing  for  hours  from  memory,  the  verses  of  some  of 
their  poetical  writings.  The  whole  nation  has  been 
developed  along  that  line,  for  those  who  could  not 
read  or  write  have  had  to  depend  on  their  memory 
for  their  knowledge  of  facts. 

They  are  an  eloquent,  poetical  people.  Their 
imagination  is  vivid,  and  their  language  being  rich 
in  words,  they  find  no  trouble  in  giving  expression 
to  their  thoughts.  Some  people  in  America  who 
listened  to  the  addresses  of  the  representatives  of 
the  Hindu  religion,  and  the  Brahmo-Somaj,  at  the 
World's  Parliament  of  Religions,  can  testify  to  this 
fact.  Some  of  the  most  eloquent  men  I  have  ever 
heard  are  natives  of  India.  They  are  very  quick  to 
see  a  point,  even  though  the  thought  be  covered 
by  the  words  of  a  parable  or  a  comparison.  Even 
the  most  ignorant  have  not  only  a  poetical  turn  of 
mind,  but  can  also  understand  the  point  in  an 
argument.  Being  not  overscrupulous  as  to  the 
exact  facts,  they  can  embellish  a  narrative  and 
make  it  very  telling. 

They  are  great  lovers  of  home.  If  a  person 
were  simply  to  pass  through  the  country  and  ob- 
serve the  number  of  people  away  from  home,  either 
for  the  sake  of  work  or  on  a  religious  pilgrimage,  he 
would  at  once  think  these  people  care  nothing  for 
home.  But  they  do.  It  is  true  they  have  no  such 
homes  as  we  have,  where  husband,  wife,  and  chil- 
dren come  around  the  same  table  or  hearthstone, 
figuratively  speaking,  yet  the  wife  loves  her  husband, 
7 


98  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

and  in  many  cases  he  is  no  doubt  fond  of  her.  The 
mother  also  loves  her  children  and  the  children  the 
mother.  It  is  a  great  trial  to  the  family  when  the 
little  wife  ten  or  eleven  years  of  age  is  taken  from 
the  home  of  her  father  and  mother.  It  is  also,  a 
trial  when  they  start  off  on  their  long  religious 
pilgrimage.  They  well  know  that  the  chances  are 
they  may  never  return,  so  as  they  take  the  last 
look  at  the  old  home,  even  though  it  be  humble,  it 
is  with  many  a  heartache.  It  is  often  difficult  to 
get  them  to  leave  the  place  of  their  birth,  even 
though  they  may  better  their  condition  by  so  doing. 
Often  only  when  hunger  stares  them  in  the  face, 
can  they  be  induced  to  do  so. 

Another  very  commendable  custom  is  the  way 
they  have  of  providing  for  their  joint  families. 
This  does  not  beget  the  greatest  enterprise,  but 
provides  a  home  and  food  for  the  indolent,  the 
unfortunate,  or  the  unemployed  in  the  family.  If 
a  man  has  half  a  score  of  sons,  each  one  brings  his 
wife  to  his  father's  house,  and  here  they  all  live 
from  a  common  purse.  If  only  one  in  the  ten  has 
employment  he  will  cheerfully  hand  over  his  wages 
each  month  to  his  mother,  who  is  queen  in  her 
realm  —  the  house.  Sometimes  as  many  as  a  hun- 
dred persons  have  a  common  home,  and  no  one  of 
the  hundred  will  want  as  long  as  any  of  the  number 
has  anything  to  divide. 

The  Hindus  are  a  very  devotional  people.  They 
expect  every  man  to  have  a  religion  as  much  as  a 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    NATIVES.  99 

nationality.  With  them  it  matters  little  what  their 
morals  may  be,  but  they  are  still  religious.  A  man 
must  attend  to  his  religious  duties,  and  these  some- 
times involve  a  great  deal.  They  make  him  observe 
certain  days,  and  send  him  on  long  pilgrimages,  and 
make  him  give  of  his  substance  though  that  be  but 
little.  It  matters  not  what  the  demand,  he  must 
comply.  Visit  Muttra,  Brindaban,  Benares,  Kurd- 
war,  Puri,  and  a  hundred  other  shrines,  and  you 
will  be  convinced  that  the  Hindu  is  a  very  religious 
man. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OCCUPATIONS. 

I  AM  often  asked,  ' '  What  do  the  people  do  ? " 
That  question  cannot  be  answered  in  a  single  sen- 
tence. If  we  would  see  them  as  they  are,  we  must 
glance  at  their  separate  occupations.  The  largest 
class  in  Bengal  are  farmers.  Only  five  out  of  every 
hundred  live  in  the  cities.  When  we  remember  that 
in  England  sixty-six,  and  in  America  twenty-two 
out  of  each  hundred,  live  in  towns  and  cities,  we  see 
more  clearly  the  rural  nature  of  the  Indian  people. 
I  have  told  you  something  of  what  these  farmers 
produce.  They  require  but  a  few  tools  to  do  their 
work.  A  plow  with  a  single  handle,  a  sickle,  a 
heavy,  short-handled  hoe,  and  a  yoke  of  bullocks, 
are  about  all  that  are  necessary.  If  they  need  to 
irrigate  the  land,  a  few  more  things  are  required. 
If  they  irrigate  from  a  tank  or  a  river,  a  scoop  is 
made  of  woven  bamboo  splints.  On  each  side  of 
this  a  rope  is  attached  by  means  of  which  two  men 
raise  the  water,  simply  by  a  sort  of  swinging  motion. 
If  it  needs  to  be  raised  higher,  sometimes  a  sweep  is 
constructed. 

In  Northern  India  thousands  of  wells  furnish  the 
water  for  irrigation.  Bullocks  raise  the  water  from 
these.  These  are  exclusive  of  the  many  irrigation 

[100] 


OCCUPATIONS.  IOI 

canals.  Bullocks  plow  the  fields,  carry  in  most  of 
the  grain,  tread  it  out,  and  carry  both  straw  and 
rice  to  market  on  their  backs.  With  these  diverse 
duties  the  farmer  hardly  has  the  last  of  his  straw 
carried  off,  before  he  has  to  begin  plowing  again. 

Landholders  are  men  whose  forefathers  had  large 
estates,  which  the  government  has  allowed  them 
to  keep  by  paying  a  certain  annual  land  rent. 
These  landlords  do  not  work  their  own  land,  but 
let  it  to  tenants.  The  former  live  oji  the  fat  of 
the  land,  and  many  of  them  have  been  very 
oppressive. 

There  are  many  who  cultivate  no  land,  but  live 
by  working  here  and  there  as  they  can  find  a  day's 
work.  These  are  called  coolies,  and  their  pay  is 
about  five  cents  a  day,  and  they  board  themselves. 
The  ambition  of  nearly  every  country  coolie  is  to 
get  a  piece  of  land  which  he  can  call  his  own, 
though  in  reality  no  person  can  absolutely  own 
land  in  India.  Many  small  farmers  do  coolie  work 
when  they  can  get  it  to  do. 

There  are  in  the  bazaars,  manufacturers  of  differ- 
ent kinds.  No  steam-  or  water-power  is  employed, 
but  all  work  is  done  by  men,  women,  or  bullocks. 
Large  quantities  of  brass  are  used  in  dishes.  This 
is  melted  and  run  into  a  mold  of  the  required  shape, 
after  which  the  articles  are  cut  and  polished.  Some 
very  nice  work  is  done  in  this  way,  and  some  beau- 
tiful carved  brass  work  is  turned  out  from  Benares, 
Moradabad,  and  other  places. 


IO2  DAILY   LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

The  people  are  very  fond  of  jewelry,  and  often 
hoard  their  money  in  this  way,  so  there  are  many 
goldsmiths  and  silversmiths  in  the  country.  Very 
little  gold  is  in  circulation  in  India,  and  the  reason 
assigned  is  that  every  gold  coin  is  at  once  locked  up 
in  jewelry.  These  smiths,  with  a  hollow  bamboo 
branch  for  a  blowpipe,  a  pot  of  charcoal,  a  file,  and 
a  pair  of  pinchers,  and  two  or  three  other  rude 
instruments,  will  melt  the  gold  and  silver,  and 
fashion  it  as  you  wish.  Some  of  the  finest  work  in 
the  world  in  these  metals  is  done  in  India.  One 
peculiarity  of  these  smiths  is  that  they  can  blow  a 
constant  blast  of  wind  through  their  blowpipe.  The 
wind  enters  the  nose,  goes  into  the  lungs,  and  out 
of  the  mouth  in  a  constant  circuit.  This  may  seem 
incredible  because  we  cannot  do  it.  But  they  can, 
and  do. 

The  blacksmith  sits  on  his  heels  and  pounds  out 
his  wares  ;  i.  e. ,  what  of  them  he  does  n't  burn  up. 
He  is  not  the  man  who  shoes  the  horses  and  bul- 
locks. He  makes  the  shoes,  and  another  trades- 
man comes  to  the  stable  to  put  them  on.  He  is 
a  little  too  high  up  in  the  social  scale  to  blow  his 
own  bellows,  so  another  man  sits  on  his  heels  to 
blow  the  bellows.  A  blacksmith  shop  can  be  im- 
provised any  time  inside  of  half  an  hour  under  a 
tree.  The  bellows  consists  of  two  goat-skins,  with 
two  flat  strips  of  wood  sixteen  inches  long,  so  fas- 
tened to  each  skin  that  when  the  man  takes  hold 
of  one,  by  putting  his  thumb  over  one  strip  and 


OCCUPATIONS.  IO3 

his  fingers  over  the  other,  he  can  open  it.  When 
he  opens  it,  of  course  the  air  rushes  in,  and  he 
blows  ft  out  through  an  iron  nozzle  at  the  other 
end,  by  closing  his  hand  and  pressing  down  on  the 
skin.  He  has  two  skins  which  he  alternately  opens 
and  closes,  so  making  a  constant  blowing  at  the 
fire  where  these  nozzles  come  together.  To  make 
the  place  for  the  fire,  all  that  is  needed  is  a  little 
stiff  mud  plastered  around  the  nozzles  of  the  bel- 
lows, and  a  heavy  stone  to  hold  them  down.  With 
a  basket  of  charcoal,  a  heavy  piece  of  iron  for  an 
anvil,  a  pair  of  tongs,  and  a  hammer,  he  is  equipped 
for  business.  I  was  rude  enough  to  laugh  outright 
the  first  time  I  saw  a  blacksmith  at  work. 

When  a  brick  mason  begins  a  job,  his  first  work 
probably  will  be  to  make  his  brick.  When  taken 
from  the  mold  that  holds  but  a  single  brick,  they 
are  spread  around  upon  the  grass  to  dry.  When 
enough  are  dry,  they  prepare  to  burn  them.  This 
is  not  done  as  we  burn  brick.  They  make  as  many 
walls  a  foot  high  and  eight  inches  thick,  as  they 
want  arches.  These  walls  are  as  long  as  the  kiln 
is  to  be  wide,  and  about  fifteen  inches  apart.  Into 
this  open  place,  between  these  several  little  walls, 
they  put  dry  fire  wood.  Now  they  begin  to  build 
up  the  rest  of  the  kiln,  putting  the  bricks  over  the 
wood  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  not  fall  when 
the  wood  burns  out.  So  it  goes  clear  to  the  top, 
mixing  together  brick  and  wood.  Sometimes  they 
put  in  pieces  of  logs  eighteen  inches  in  diameter. 


IO4  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

When  it  is  all  laid  up,  fire  is  set  to  the  fine  wood 
below,  and  inside  of  twenty-four  hours  all  of  the 
wood  in  the  kiln  is  ablaze.  When  the  wood  is 
consumed,  the  bricks  are  burned. 

The  brick  mason  next  prepares  his  lime.  First 
in  order  is  to  have  the  stone.  In  our  part  of  India, 
this  was  simply  nuggets  of  limestone  called  gingta, 
and  was  usually  gathered  by  women.  They  find  it 
lying  around  in  waste  places  and  in  ditches.  It  is 
not  found  in  all  places,  and  the  supply,  even  where 
it  is  found,  may  become  exhausted,  so  at  times  it 
must  be  brought  long  distances  in  carts  or  other- 
wise. After  the  gingta  is  gathered,  it  must  be 
burned.  For  this  purpose  a  round  kiln  is  made 
from  four  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  four  or  five  feet 
high,  and  open  at  the  top.  In  order  to  have  a 
draft,  two  or  three  openings  are  left  in  the  wall 
at  the  bottom.  First  a  little  straw  and  dry  wood 
are  put  in,  then  three  baskets  of  charcoal  and  one 
of  gingta.  In  this  proportion  the  charcoal  and 
lime  are  put,  until  the  kiln  is  full,  when  it  is  set  on 
fire.  When  the  charcoal  is  consumed,  the  lime  is 
burned.  Wood  may  be  used  instead  of  charcoal, 
but  more  is  required.  One  strange  thing  about  the 
burning  of  brick  and  lime,  is  that  these  masons  will 
not  set  fire  to  their  lime-kilns  nor  their  brick-kilns. 
They  say  the  fire  will  destroy  life  in  the  lime  and 
the  brick,  and  they  must  not  take  life.  They  are 
consistent  enough  to  cause  some  one  of  a  lower 
caste  to  start  the  fire. 


OCCUPATIONS.  105 

Walls  are  laid  something  as  they  are  in  America, 
only  very  slowly,  and  with  a  great  deal  of  water. 
The  masons  have  a  little  straw  wisp  beside  them, 
and  a  jar  of  water.  These  are  used  every  now  and 
again  in  sprinkling  the  walls.  Often  a  course  of 
brick  is  laid  on  the  outside  and  inside  of  the  wall, 
and  the  place  between  is  filled  with  water,  which 
is  allowed  to  remain  until  absorbed  by  the  brick, 
while  they  work  upon  some  other  part  of  the  wall, 
or  retire  for  a  smoke.  May  this  not  account  for 
the  fact  that  their  buildings  will  sometimes  stand 
for  more  than  a  thousand  years  ?  They  make 
beautiful  cornices,  and  all  kinds  of  stucco-work 
with  this  lime.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that 
they  take  their  time  to  do  a  job.  The  wages  of  a 
brick-mason  in  the  country  districts  is  from  eight 
to  ten  cents  a  day,  and  he  boards  himself. 

The  making  of  pottery  is  an  important  industry. 
Water  is  brought  in  earthen  jars,  people  cook  in 
them,  and  use  them  in  various  other  ways.  The 
material  is  coarse,  and  the  construction  rude,  still 
they  answer  their  purpose.  These  craftsmen,  like 
all  others,  sit  on  their  heels  to  do  their  work.  A 
great  deal  of  this  pottery  is  wasted,  and  caste  is  ac- 
countable for  part  of  it.  Many  of  the  pilgrims  buy 
a  little  half-cent  or  quarter-cent  earthen  dish  to 
cook  their  rice  in,  and  after  dinner  either  throw  it 
down  and  break  it,  or  leave  it  by  the  tree  or  rest- 
house  where  they  were.  We  might  think  that  the 
next  man  who  came  along  and  wanted  to  boil  his 


IO6  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

rice,  would  pick  up  one  of  the  dishes,  and  wash  it, 
and  use  it.  But  he  does  not.  He  does  n't  know 
what  low-caste  man  may  have  used  it,  so  he  pro- 
ceeds to  buy  one  for  himself.  In  this  way  millions 
of  earthen  jars  are  destroyed.  They  have  a  custom 
also  of  breaking,  once  a -year,  all  vessels  in  their 
houses  made  of  this  material.  Almost  any  day  you 
may  see  men  and  women  bringing  great  loads  of 
earthen  jars  to  market. 

Weaving  is  accomplished  by  means  of  the  rudest 
kind  of  tools,  and  is  all  done  by  hand.  I  am  not 
speaking  of  cotton  and  jute  mills  established  by 
English  capital,  but  of  natives  as  they  work.  The 
thread  is  prepared  after  the  most  primitive  meth- 
ods, and  is  then  stretched  under  a  tree,  the  length 
which  the  piece  of  cloth  is  to  be.  Under  this  tree 
it  is  often  woven.  The  natives  make  all  kinds  of 
cloth  (chiefly  of  cotton),  from  the  coarse  and 
strong,  such  as  is  worn  by  the  Santals,  to  the  fine 
worn  by  the  higher  caste  women.  Tussur-silk 
made  from  cocoons  found  in  the  jungles,  is  one  of 
the  industries.  How  they  can  make  such  fine  fab- 
rics as  they  do  with  their  rude  tools  is  a  mystery. 
In  the  vicinity  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  a  good 
deal  of  coarse  woolen  goods  is  made,  and  Cash- 
mere is  noted  for  the  finest  shawls  in  the  world. 
The  hand- looms  of  India  cannot  compete  with  the 
steam-looms  of  Manchester,  so  that  weaving  does 
not  furnish  the  occupation  for  the  people  which  it 


OCCUPATIONS.  IO7 

once  did.     Many  who  now  weave  their  own  cloth, 
buy  Manchester  yarn. 

A  very  low-caste  people  are  the  shoemakers,  who 
are  also  the  tanners.  Animals  which  die  are 
skinned  by  the  sweepers,  and  their  skins  are  taken 
to  the  shoemakers.  These  also  get  skins  from  the 
Mohammedan  butchers.  They  tan  them  by  mak- 
ing them  into  a  big  bag,  and  filling  these  with  a 
liquid  made  from  barks  of  different  kinds  steeped  in 
water.  The  skins  in  this  way  are  suspended  over 
a  large  earthen  vessel  into  which  they  drip.  They 
make  some  pretty  good  leather,  but  it  has  the 
peculiar  property  of  shrinking  rather  than  stretch- 
ing with  use.  If  our  shoe  fits  us  nicely  when  it 
is  new,  we  may  be  sure  it  will  be  too  small  after  a 
few  months.  If  we  wish  to  have  one  of  these 
country  shoemakers  make  us  a  pair  of  shoes,  we 
call  him  to  our  house.  When  he  gets  ready,  he 
comes,  and  takes  for  a  measure  a  strip  of  paper. 
He  cuts  this  off,  making  it  the  length  of  our  foot. 
Then  he  measures  the  instep  with  the  same  piece 
of  paper,  tearing  the  edge  to  make  the  mark.  We 
ask  him  when  he  will  have  the  shoes  done,  and  he 
tells  us,  "Day  after  to-morrow."  He  stands 
around  as  if  he  were  not  quite  ready  to  go,  and  we 
ask  him  what  more  he  wants.  ' '  I  want  a  little 
money  for  expenses,"  he  says.  If  we  don't  know 
the  custom  of  the  country,  we  perhaps  may  tell 
him  that  when  he  gets  his  work  done,  we  will  pay 


IO8  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

him  ;  but  if  we  do  know  the  custom,  we  will  know 
that  we  must  give  him  something  in  advance,  or 
we  will  never  get  our  work  done.  We  may  re- 
fuse to  give  it  to  him,  and  he  may  promise  to  do 
the  work,  but  it  is  probable  he  will  not  do  it.  If 
we  do  give  him  a  little  money  in  advance,  he  does 
the  work  when  he  gets  ready.  Only  after  one  has 
lived  in  India  a  few  years,  can  he  understand  the 
expression,  "  Lie  like  a  shoemaker."  Have  plenty 
of  patience  and  perseverance,  and  we  will  get  our 
shoes  after  a  while. 

There  are  merchants  of  all  kinds.  If,  for  in- 
stance, you  should  go  down  the  streets  of  Balasore 
or  Midnapore,  you  would  see  a  line  of  shops  on 
either  side  of  the  road.  These  are  all  small  and 
but  one  story  high.  Some  of  them  are  pucca  and 
some  mud  houses.  The  man  who  sells  goods  usu- 
ally sits  on  a  grass  mat  on  the  floor,  or  on  a  large 
low  table.  He  may  have  beside  him  a  large  cush- 
ion on  which  to  recline.  If  he  can  get  the  article 
you  wish  without  getting  up,  he  will  do  so  ;  if  .not, 
he  will  get  up.  You  would  find  one  man  selling 
cloth  of  various  kinds  ;  another,  different  kinds  of 
oils,  as  kerosene-oil,  from  both  Russia  and  America, 
castor-oil,  coconut-oil,  mustard-oil,  and  various  other 
kinds  of  a  coarser  nature  which  the  natives  eat, 
and  which  they  also  use  to  rub  on  their  bodies  in 
the  winter  season  before  bathing.  This  man  would 
also  have  rosin,  gums,  and  paint.  The  next  man 
perhaps  would  sell  candies,  which  he  makes  on 


OCCUPATIONS.  IO9 

the  spot  from  sugar,  flour,  melted  butter,  and  sour 
milk.  With  one  or  more  of  these  four  articles  and  a 
few  spices  in  different  combinations,  and  in  different 
ways,  he  will  make  a  great  variety  of  sweets.  The 
next  man  may  have  a  shop  for  English  goods.  He 
keeps  a  little  of  almost  everything,  even  though 
his  shop  be  but  eight  feet  by  ten  feet.  We  may 
go  and  inquire  for  something  which  we  don't  ex- 
pect to  find  short  of  Calcutta,  and  as  likely  as  not, 
he  will  find  the  very  thing  we  are  after,  in  some 
dusty  corner.  The  next  man  has  grains  of  all 
kinds,  as  rice,  wheat,  and  dal  of  different  varieties. 
The  people  are  very  fond  of  parched  rice,  so  this 
is  found  in  many  shops.  They  make  it  by  putting 
a  certain  kind  of  rice  in  an  earthen  jar,  building  a 
brisk  fire  under  it,  and  stirring  it  with  a  splint 
broom  while  it  is  popping.  Sometimes  they  put 
molasses  with  it,  and  roll  it  into  balls.  It  is  very 
palatable  when  fresh. 

The  boatmen  are  quite  a  numerous  class  in  Ben- 
gal. Thousands  of  them  live  in  their  boats.  They 
may  have  some  other  place  they  call  home,  but 
most  of  their  time  is  spent  on  their  boats.  At  a 
point  above  the  Howrah  bridge,  a  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  boats  pass  in  a  single  year.  They 
handle  their  boats  very  skilfully  and  sometimes 
recklessly.  I  was  going  up  on  the  steamship 
' '  Bassein "  once  ;  and  as  we  neared  Calcutta,  we 
saw  a  native  rowboat  coming  toward  us  as  if  it 
would  pass  in  front  of  us.  I  feared,  as  I  saw  them 


IIO  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

coming,  that  they  had  mistaken  our  speed,  and  so 
it  was,  for  instead  of  passing  in  front,  they  struck 
our  side  wheel,  and  instantly  their  boat  was  in 
splinters.  They  swim  like  ducks,  and  none  were 
lost.  While  we  find  no  native  sailors  who  are 
Hindus  on  English  ships,  we  find  plenty  of  Hindus 
on  their  own  boats.  Mohammedan  sailors  are 
found  in  large  numbers  on  European  ships.  They 
are  treacherous  and  cowardly  in  a  dangerous  storm, 
and  cannot  be  depended  on  in  an  emergency. 
Though  they  are  skilful  in  running  their  own  boats, 
they  sometimes  give  us  trouble  when  they  run  our 
mission  boats,  by  what  we  used  to  think  was  their 
stupidity.  Their  pretended  stupidity  is  often  a 
deliberate  plan  to  secure  some  advantage  to  them- 
selves. 

In  Orissa  there  are  many  tidal  rivers,  and  the 
coast  canal  crosses  all  these.  At  all  these  river 
crossings  there  are  locks,  which  must  be  entered 
while  there  is  plenty  of  water  in  the  river.  Some- 
times, in  crossing,  they  would  delay  the  boat 
through  various  pretexts,  until  they  were  just  too 
late  to  enter  the  lock  on  the  opposite  side.  This 
would  secure  a  rest  to  them  until  the  next  tide 
came  in.  You  might  be  greatly  inconvenienced  by 
the  delay,  but  it  mattered  little  to  them.  Here, 
again,  you  have  a  chance  to  exercise  the  grace  of 
patience. 

We  must  not  overlook  the  mahajan.  The  word 
literally  means  "great  man,"  and  so  he  is.  He  is 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  I  I 

the  money-lender.  This  may  be  his  sole  occupa- 
tion, or  he  may  do  this  in  connection  with  some 
other  business.  Sometimes  goldsmiths  are  money- 
lenders. The  regular  rate  of  interest  among  the 
natives  is  two  pice  on  a  rupee  per  month.  As  there 
are  sixty-four  pice  in  a  rupee,  two  pice  a  month 
would  be  one  thirty-second  of  the  principal  per 
month,  or  nearly  forty  per  cent,  per  year.  It  is 
little  wonder  that  when  a  poor  man  gets  into  the 
hands  of  a  money-lender,  he  is  often  there  for  life, 
and  sometimes  becomes  not  much  less  than  a  slave 
to  him.  The  note  given  is  equal  to  a  chattel  mort- 
gage, and  will  take  the  last  thing  a  man  has  if  the 
holder  sees  fit  to  crowd  him.  Custom  is  an  iron 
law  in  India,  and  the  custom  is  to  spend  large  sums 
on  the  marriage  of  a  daughter.  On  such  occasions 
the  money-lender  is  often  called  upon.  This  is  one 
of  the  ways  to  account  for  the  poverty  of  the  people. 
No  one  could  live  opposite  a  police  headquar- 
ters, as  we  did  for  nine  years,  without  realizing  that 
policemen  are  a  factor  not  to  be  overlooked  in  speak- 
ing of  occupations.  The  lowest  grade  of  these  is 
the  cliaukcdar  or  village  watchman.  These  men 
are  armed  with  a  tough  bamboo  pole  six  feet  long, 
on  the  end  of  which  is  a  spear.  They  go  around 
the  village  at  night  and  call  out  now  and  again  at 
the  top  of  their  voice.  I  have  often  told  them  that 
they  call  out  so  as  to  give  the  thief  a  good  chance 
to  get  away.  So  far  as  being  a  protection  against 
thieves  is  concerned,  in  our  part  of  the  country  they 


I  I  2  DAILY   LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

are  absolutely  worthless.  In  Northern  India  Euro- 
peans employ  one  of  the  thief  caste  as  a  watchman, 
and  then  they  are  safe  though  the  watchman  sleep 
all  night.  This  illustrates  the  truth  of  the  saying 
that  ' '  there  is  honor  among  thieves. " 

The  next  above  the  chaukedar  is  the  Bengal 
police.  These  men  enlist  as  persons  do  in  the 
army,  and  have  regular  military  drill.  They 
are  distinguished  by  their  blue  drill  pantaloons, 
shirt,  and  head-cloth.  I  would  not  depreciate  any 
part  of  the  government  machinery  of  any  worth, 
but  I  have  had  pretty  good  chances  for  knowing, 
and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  are 
about  as  big  a  set  of  rascals  as  could  well  be  found. 
Possibly  they  help  preserve  the  peace,  but  I  doubt 
it.  On  the  other  hand,  they  bring  many  innocent 
people  into  the  law  courts.  They  are  supposed  to 
have  criminal  cases  to  report  frequently,  but  if 
these  cases  do  not  come  under  their  observation, 
they  don't  have  much  trouble  in  getting  up  one. 
But  they  are  more  noted  for  hushing  up  those 
which  ought  to  come  to  the  surface,  than  for 
trumping  up  cases.  The  palms  of  the  policeman's 
hands  itch  for  coin,  which  will  work  wonders  for 
the  guilty  man,  and  withholding  this,  no  one  need 
expect  much  help. 

Let  me  give  a  personal  experience  to  illustrate 
this.  I  took  with  me  to  India  a  very  nice,  valu- 
able watch  which  came  to  me  from  my  dear  younger 
brother,  whom  death  had  taken  from  us.  I  had  a 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  I  3 

little  pocket  on  the  wall  near  the  head  of  the  bed, 
where  I  hung  my  watch  at  night.  It  often  hap- 
pened that  I  left  it  there  through  the  day  also. 
One  day  I  went  to  get  it,  and  it  was  not  there. 
People  said,  "Tell  the  police,"  and  so  I  did.  They 
at  once  came  to  the  house.  It  was  not  the  ordi- 
nary policeman  in  a  blue  drill  suit,  but  a  man  a 
grade  or  two  higher,  having  on  white  drill  with  two 
or  three  red  stripes  across  his  sleeve,  a  white  head- 
cloth  fringed  with  red,  and  around  him  a  leathern 
belt  with  a  brass  buckle.  Along  with  this  head  man 
came  a  writer,  and  an  ordinary  policeman  in  blue. 
This  latter  had  to  come  to  carry  the  ink-bottle  and 
a  little  roll  of  brown  paper  on  which  were  to  be 
noted  some  of  the  important  things  necessary  to  be 
known  in  the  case  :  First,  ' '  Which  door  would  the 
thief  be  likely  to  enter  ?  "  As  there  were  seven  to 
the  room,  it  is  probable  he  had  some  trouble  in 
deciding,  but  at  last  the  writer  was  told  what  to 
record  in  this  connection.  Then,  "  How  far  did 
the  pocket  hang  from  the  bed  ?  "  The  distance  was 
roughly  estimated  and  recorded.  Then  the  color 
of  the  pocket  must  be  carefully  noted.  This  was 
very  important.  It  was  not  only  red  like  the  fringe 
of  his  head-cloth,  but  a  much  brighter  red.  Sev- 
eral other  things  of  equal  importance  were  observed 
and  carefully  noted.  With  a  profound  bow  he 
departed  carefully  to  consider  the  records  he  had 
ordered  made,  with  a  promise  to  call  again  the 
next  day. 
8 


114  DAILY   LIFE   IN    BENGAL. 

The  next  day  he  came  to  reassure  himself  that 
his  observations  of  the  previous  day  were  correct. 
Finding  he  had  made  no  mistake,  he  again  with- 
drew with  a  promise  to  call  again  soon.  The  next 
day  he  came  to  announce  his  conclusions  ;  namely, 
that  some  one  acquainted  with  the  premises,  and 
some  one  with  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  I  had 
a  watch,  had  probably  stolen  it.  This  was  a  long 
step  in  the  right  direction.  The  next  conclusion 
was  that  no  one  would  be  more  likely  to  have  this 
knowledge  than  some  of  the  servants,  and  therefore 
some  of  them  had  it.  If  they  had  it,  we  would 
better  search  their  houses  for  it,  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  do,  but  found  no  watch.  I  gave  him  no 
fee,  and  no  more  effort  was  made  to  find  my  watch 
by  the  police.  The  native  Christians,  with  myself, 
decided  who  the  guilty  man  was,  and  a  month  after- 
ward, two  of  our  native  preachers  found  him,  and 
recovered  my  watch. 

These  men  walk  about  with  their  clubs  hanging 
by  their  side,  and  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
many  of  the  poor,  ignorant  people.  They  often 
buy  things  of  the  farmers  at  their  own  price,  and 
vague  rumors  are  sometimes  heard  that  often  they 
never  pay  for  what  they  get.  This  is  without  doubt 
true.  Perhaps  on  the  whole  it  is  better  to  keep  them 
as  policemen,  than  to  discharge  them  and  let  such 
a  bad  class  loose  on  society. 

The  garrie  wallah,  or  cartman,  must  receive  a 
little  attention.  His  cart  is  made  of  two  large  wheels 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  I  5 

five  feet  in  diameter,  a  wooden  axle,  two  large 
poles  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  V  (only  with  a  much 
more  acute  angle),  with  the  point  eight  feet  in  front 
of  the  axle,  and  the  two  ends  running  back  of  the 
axle  eight  feet.  At  the  point  the  yoke  is  tied  with 
a  strong  rope,  and  over  the  axle  is  the  cover.  This 
is  made  by  bending  green  bamboo  strips,  tying 
other  strips  across  them,  and  spreading  palm  leaves 
over  the  whole.  This  covering  makes  a  good  pro- 
tection from  rain  and  sun.  The  yoke  is  simply  a 
straight  pole  with  a  loose  pin  in  either  end,  and  the 
bullocks  are  generally  small  cattle,  with  a  hump  on 
their  necks  just  in  front  of  the  shoulder  blade.  In 
Northern  and  Southern  India  the  cattle  have  long 
ears,  and  are  much  larger  than  in  Bengal.  The 
hump  catches  the  yoke  as  soon  as  they  begin  to 
draw.  If  the  cartman  is  very  fond  of  his  bullocks, 
he  will  have  them  tattooed  in  many  places  on  their 
bodies  with  different  figures.  This  is  done  by 
burning  them  with  a  red-hot  iron.  If  he  be  able, 
he  will  have  a  string  of  cowries1  around  the  base  of 
their  horns,  and  a  sweet-sounding  bell  on  the  neck 
of  each. 

A  hollow  bamboo  a  foot  long  is  fastened  to  the 
cover  to  hold  oil  for  greasing  his  cart  and  his 
bullocks'  horns,  while  on  the  top  of  the  cover 
may  be  seen  his  box  and  earthen  jar  for  cook- 
ing and  feeding  purposes.  The  driver  loads  his 
cart  so  as  to  allow  a  heavy  portion  to  rest  on 

1 A  small  shell  used  as  money. 


Il6  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

the  necks  of  his  bullocks,  and  when  all  is  ready  to 
start,  he  sits  astride  the  V-shaped  tongue,  sticks 
his  toes  into  the  belly  of  each  bullock,  gives  them 
a  blow  with  his  club  of  a  whip,  seizes  each  one  by 
the  root  of  the  tail  with  his  thumb  and  finger,  and 
shouts  to  them.  If  this  will  not  start  them,  noth- 
ing will.  While  on  the  road,  the  cartmen  often 
cook,  feed  their  bullocks,  and  eat  under  the  shade 
of  a  tree,  and  sleep  under  or  in  their  carts.  All 
teaming  is  done  by  the  faithful  bullocks.  Horses 
draw  only  people. 

There  is  also  quite  an  array  of  domestics  con- 
nected with  every  well-to-do  household.  The  na- 
tive gentlemen  are  very  fond  of  making  a  display 
of  these.  In  the  eyes  of  their  fellow  countrymen 
their  wealth  is  determined  by  the  number  of  people 
they  can  have  around  their  houses.  You  call  on  a 
native  gentleman,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  see 
the  number  of  servants  that  will  make  their  ap- 
pearance at  one  time  or  another.  I  never  could 
tell  what  they  all  did.  English  officials  have  a 
good  many,  but  missionaries  reduce  their  staff  to 
the  lowest  number  possible.  But  before  I  speak  of 
the  duties  of  these  domestics,  let  me  say  a  word  as 
to  their  necessity.  The  question  is  asked,  "Why 
do  missionaries  keep  servants  ?  Why  do  they  so 
soon  forget  their  simple  habits  of  living  after  they 
get  to  India  ? " 

I  may  as  well  say  a  few  words  now  as  at  any 
time  on  this  subject.  In  the  first  place,  mission- 


OCCUPATIONS.  117 

aries  have  been,  as  a  rule,  people  who  in  the  home 
land  had  simple  habits.  In  the  next  place,  they 
are,  as  a  rule,  intelligent  and  conscientious  people. 
These  two  facts  ought  to  be  a  guaranty  that  they 
would  not  unnecessarily  indulge  luxurious  habits. 
They  keep  servants  because  they  are  a  necessity. 
They  pay  for  them  from  their  own  pocketbooks,  so 
of  course  would  not  keep  more  than  were  needed. 
The  country  is  very  hot,  so  that  we  cannot  put 
forth  more  physical  effort  than  is  necessary  to  do 
the  work  connected  with  our  missionary  work.  If 
we  did  our  own  work,  it  would  be  at  the  expense 
of  the  work  we  were  sent  there  to  do.  I  contend 
that  it  is  no  more  right  for  our  wives  to  neglect 
their  mission  work  for  their  housework,  than  it 
would  be  for  a  school-teacher  in  this  country  to  be 
making  her  dresses  and  aprons  during  the  hours  of 
teaching.  The  missionary's  wife  is  paid  to  do 
mission  work,  as  the  teacher  is  paid  to  teach  the 
school.  It  is  true  there  are  some  duties  she  can- 
not relegate  to  servants,  but  she  can  have  them 
wash  her  clothes,  and  make  them,  and  do  many 
other  things  which  she  does  in  America. 

"If  necessary  to  have  some,  'why  have  so 
many  ?  " —  For  the  same  reason  we  have  one,  we 
must  have  a  number.  With  their  caste  ideas  one 
will  not  do  the  work  which  belongs  to  another.  A 
cook  will  not  sweep,  and  a  gardener  cannot  cook, 
and  a  tailor  cannot  wash  clothes.  Members  of  one 
class  cannot  do  the  work  of  another,  and  would 


I  1 8  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

not  if  they  could.  We  must,  therefore,  have 
separate  people  to  do  these  various  kinds  of  work. 
We  must  bear  in  mind  that  they  work  very  cheaply, 
and  board  themselves.  Besides  all  this,  there  are 
so  many  people  who  are  struggling  for  an  existence, 
and  who  can  hardly  keep  their  children  from  starv- 
ing, that  from  sheer  pity,  we  would  employ  them 
as  much  as  we  possibly  could.  Many  of  them  are 
good  and  true,  and  one  becomes  quite  attached  to 
them.  They  are  also  at  times  a  great  trial. 

Having  said  so  much  as  an  explanation  for  their 
necessity,  let  us  look  at  their  work.  Let  us  begin 
with  the  bearer.  This  man  is  supposed  to  look 
after  the  children  and  keep  them  from  running  into 
the  sun,  dust  the  furniture,  keep  the  mold  off  our 
books  and  shoes  during  the  rains,  fill  the  lamps,  buy 
material  for  annual  repairs,  look  after  these  repairs, 
and  do  many  kinds  of  work  in  that  line,  so  that  the 
man  of  the  house  may  not  be  tried  every  hour  in 
the  day  with  these  things.  As  natives  go,  he  is  a 
pretty  faithful  man,  but  you  have  some  trials  with 
him.  When  he  cleans  the  books,  he  may  put  them 
in  wrong  end  up,  and  in  his  efforts  to  keep  others 
from  cheating  you,  he  is  apt  to  do  it  himself.  Then 
you  are  never  quite  sure  about  the  children.  We 
may  find  one  of  them  out  in  the  sun  with  no 
hat  on,  which  never  should  be  allowed.  If  we 
chide  the  bearer,  he  will  tell  us  the  child  ran  out 
itself,  and  would  go,  and  what  could  he  do  ?  So 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  1 9 

while  the  bearer  looks  after  things  in  general,  we 
must  look  after  him  in  particular. 

The  butcher  comes.  He  is  a  Mohammedan,  of 
course,  and  has  with  him  a  small  boy  who  carries, 
on  a  flat,  dirty  tray  made  of  split  bamboos,  some 
meat.  He  plants  himself  in  the  back  door  so  as  to 
attract  our  attention,  and  when  he  gets  our  eye, 
makes  a  low  salaam  (bow).  We  go  to  him  to  see 
what  he  has,  and  he  tells  us  it  is  a  nice  piece  of 
lamb,  and  he  picks  it  up,  and  turns  it  over,  and 
points  out  the  fat  if  he  can  find  any,  and  assures  us 
that  it  is  young  and  tender.  We  tell  him  we  fear 
it  is  not  lamb,  but  goat.  He  emphatically  declares 
it  is  lamb,  and  asks  if  we  ever  saw  wool  growing 
from  a  goat's  leg,  and  then  points  triumphantly  to 
the  wool  near  the  foot,  which  he  did  not  take  off. 
We  are  sure  he  is  right,  and  buy  his  lamb.  Don't  be 
at  all  surprised  to  find  that  the  wool  was  carefully 
sewed  on  a  goat's  leg,  by  which  process  a  goat  is 
readily  turned  into  a  lamb. 

Here  is  the  gardener.  We  must  have  a  little 
house  built  in  the  garden  for  him.  It  need  not  be 
large,  —  ten  feet  square  will  do, — but  he  must  have 
it,  in  order  to  keep  people  from  stealing  the  fruit 
and  vegetables.  He  watches  the  fruit  as  it  ripens, 
and  plucks  it  before  the  crows,  or  monkeys,  or  bad 
boys  do.  He  is  supposed  to  board  himself,  but 
intends  to  get  all  the  fruit  and  vegetables  he  needs 
out  of  the  garden.  Each  morning  he  brings  in 


I2O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

the  fruit  and  vegetables,  tastefully  arranged  on  a 
flat  woven  bamboo  tray.  He  is  a  gardener  by 
caste,  and  rarely  does  anything  else  but  work  in 
fruits,  vegetables,  or  grains. 

But  of  all  servants  the  cook  is  the  most  impor- 
tant. The  cook-house  is  some  distance  from  the 
house,  and  no  European  woman  could  walk  back 
and  forth  between  this  and  the  house  very  much 
in  the  hot  sun.  The  cook  is,  therefore,  left  a  good 
deal  to  himself.  This  suits  him  well,  for  he  can 
then  do  about  as  he  likes.  There  is  in  the  house  a 
sort  of  pantry,  in  which  all  the  provisions  are  kept 
under  lock  and  key.  The  lady  of  the  house  makes 
up  her  mind  what  she  wants  for  the  different  meals 
of  the  day,  and  gives  her  orders  to  the  cook  early 
in  the  morning.  He  comes  to  the  pantry  with  his 
dishes,  and  she  comes  with  her  keys.  He  gets 
rice,  dal,  onions,  sugar,  cracked  wheat,  potatoes,  if 
there  are  any,  salt,  and  ghee.  He  sometimes  says 
he  has  not  enough  salt,  or  sugar,  or  ghee.  She 
may  give  him  more,  or  may  say,  ' '  That  is  surely 
enough  for  one  day. "  He  says  nothing,  of  course, 
but  takes  his  things  and  goes.  At  dinner  you  find 
that  things  which  required  salt  are  too  fresh,  or 
things  which  required  sugar  are  not  sweet  enough, 
and  the  ghee  is  nearly  minus  in  some  things.  You 
may  suggest  to  the  cook  that  the  dinner  is  taste- 
less. He  tells  you  very  meekly  that  he  is  very 
sorry,  but  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  make  things 
sweet  without  sugar.  The  next  time,  you  let  him 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  2  I 

take  about  what  salt,  sugar,  and  ghee  he  asks  for. 
You  see  the  man  has  a  family  at  home,  and  they 
like  salt  in  their  rice,  and  ghee  in  their  dal.  You 
know  that  what  of  these  your  dinner  lacks,  has 
gone  into  his,  but  you  are  helpless,  and  must  make 
the  best  of  the  situation.  You  may  say,  "Why 
not  dismiss  him  when  you  know  he  does  such 
things,  and  get  another  ? "  The  fact  is,  we  would 
not  better  our  condition  if  we  did.  The  man  has 
been  with  us  a  number  of  years,  so  that  he  and  his 
family  are  well  fed.  The  chances  are,  the  new  man 
and  his  family  would  be  lean  and  poor.  You  can 
see  what  would  follow.  The  cook  comes  very 
early  to  the  house  to  prepare  the  morning  meal. 
This  is  very  simple.  It  may  be  a  piece  of  toast,  a 
boiled  egg,  and  a  cup  of  tea.  He  churns  our  butter 
in  a  pickle  bottle,  by  shaking  it  vigorously.  The 
butcher  takes  the  leg  of  mutton  we  bought  to  the 
cook,  and  it  was  he  who  showed  you  the  piece  of 
lamb's  skin  which  was  sewed  on  the  leg  of  the  goat. 
He  may  show  it,  or  he  may  not.  That  will  depend 
entirely  on  whether  it  will  pay  him  to  do  so.  We 
must  remember  that  there  is  a  good  deal  of  power 
in  the  hands  of  the  cook.  Let  us  walk  out  quietly 
to  the  cook-house,  and  put  our  ear  to  a  crack  in  the 
door,  and  listen.  We  may  hear  something  like 
this  :  — 

Cook  :  "  How  much  did  the  mem-sahib  give  for 
this  mutton  ? " 

Butcher  :   "  One  rupee." 


122  DAILY   LIFE   IN    BENGAL. 

Cook  :   "  This  is  not  mutton,  it  is  goat." 

Butcher:  "You  don't  know  mutton  from  goat. 
That  is  a  sheep." 

Cook:  "  Do  your  sheep  fasten  the  wool  on  their 
legs  with  a  thread  ? "  The  butcher  sees  he  is 
caught,  and  smiles,  and  the  cook  says,  ' '  I  want 
more  dusturi"* 

Butcher:  "I  am  giving  you  now  two  pice  on 
the  rupee,  and  that  is  the  regular  custom." 

Cook:  "A  man  who  makes  his  money  as  you 
do,  by  selling  goat's  meat  for  mutton,  can  give 
three  pice  on  the  rupee."  The  butcher  refuses, 
a  quarrel  ensues,  and  the  cook,  always  greatly  in- 
terested in  our  welfare,  brings  the  leg  to  us,  shows 
the  trick,  and  tells  us  to  dismiss  this  man  and  get 
an  honest  butcher. 

Almost  all  the  natives  do  their  cutting  of  meats 
and  vegetables  by  means  of  a  knife  shaped  some- 
thing like  a  sickle.  One  end  of  this  is  fastened 
into  a  board  fifteen  inches  long  and  four  inches 
wide,  and  so  fixed  that  the  edge  is  toward  them. 
When  they  want  to  cut  anything  for  cooking,  they 
squat  on  the  floor,  put  one  foot  on  the  board  to 
hold  it  solid,  and  proceed  to  cut.  This  kind  of 
knife  is  found  in  every  native  house.  The  cook  is 


1  Dusturi  is  the  money  paid  to  servants  by  any  person  who  sells 
goods  of  any  kind  to  Europeans  or  wealthy  natives.  It  is  one  thirty- 
second  of  the  value  of  the  article.  The  cook  buys  for  the  table,  and 
gets  his  dusturi,  the  hostler  for  the  horses  and  gets  his,  etc.  This 
all  comes  out  of  the  purchaser. 


OCCUPATIONS.  123 

not  encumbered  with  many  garments  while  at 
his  work.  Three  yards  of  factory  cotton  tied  around 
his  loins  will  answer.  When  we  see  him  come 
into  the  dining-room  with  a  paper  in  his  hand,  we 
know  he  is  after  money,  and  wants  to  render  his 
account.  We  are  surprised  that  all  the  money  we 
gave  him  a  few  days  ago  is  gone.  But  there  it  is 
in  black  and  white  :  Rice,  so  much  ;  dal,  so  much ; 
and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  list.  Many  of  the 
smaller  things  cost  but  one  quarter  of  a  cent,  but 
the  whole  takes  all  the  money,  and  leaves  us  a 
little  in  his  debt.  We  know  he  has  cheated  us,  and 
we  think  perhaps  that  we  will  do  our  own  buy- 
ing. The  next  day  we  go  to  the  bazaar  for  this 
purpose,  but  the  men  in  the  bazaar  cheat  us  so 
much  worse  than  our  cook  did,  that  we  are  quite 
willing  for  him  to  continue.  We  had  a  Moham- 
medan cook  whose  name  was  Jesso.  Chicken  is 
the  principal  meat,  and  Jesso  bought  the  chickens. 
One  day  my  wife,  who  was  fond  of  the  leg,  after  eat- 
ing one,  looked  for  the  other.  It  was  not  to  be 
found.  She  called  the  cook  and  inquired  into  the 
matter.  Jesso  said,  ' '  Chickens  are  very  scarce 
these  days,  and  this  one  with  one  leg  is  all  I  could 
find  in  the  market. " 

There  is  a  small  piece  of  cloth  which  may  be 
said  to  be  the  badge  of  the  cook.  It  is  a  yard 
long,  and  half  a  yard  wide,  and  he  usually  carries 
it  on  his  naked  shoulder.  It  answers  a  great  variety 
of  purposes,  among  which  is  straining  milk.  This 


124  DAILY   LIFE    IN   BENGAL. 

is  not  by  order  or  consent  of  the  lady  of  the  house, 
but  the  way  he  does  when  alone  and  unmolested. 
They  never  want  to  see  any  milk  wasted,  so  in- 
sist on  squeezing  out  with  their  thumb  and  finger 
the  last  drop.  We  may  have  told  him  a  score  of 
times  that  we  would  much  prefer  a  few  drops  less 
milk,  and  a  little  less  dirt,  but  the  next  time  he 
strains  the  milk,  it  is  the  same  thing. 

As  showing  another  use  to  which  this  piece  of 
cloth  may  be  put,  let  me  tell  a  little  incident  which 
was  told  us  at  the  tea  table  the  day  it  occurred. 
The  victim  was  Mrs.  Boyer,  our  neighbor  just 
across  the  street.  She  was  feeling  a  little  languid, 
so  asked  the  cook  to  make  her  a  cup  of  coffee, 
which  he  proceeded  to  do.  It  was  so  very  nice 
that  she  asked  for  a  second  cup.  The  cook  told 
her  he  was  sorry  that  he  could  not  make  her  any 
more,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  no  more  milk. 
She  said,  "I  thought  you  had  a  quart  of  milk," 
and  the  cook  replied,  "  So  I  had,  mem-sahib,  but 
the  boy  spilt  it  on  the  cook-house  floor,  and  all  I 
could  sop  up  I  put  in  your  other  cup  of  coffee." 
We  can't  say  that  these  cooks  are  really  dirty 
men,  but  they  do  things  differently  than  we  do  in 
America.  But  they  are  faithful  in  many  respects, 
and  in  spite  of  all  their  faults,  we  like  them. 

House  cannot  be  kept  without  the  dirze.  This 
is  the  man  who  sews.  He  comes  in  the  morning 
at  nine  o'clock  and  stays  until  five.  He  never 
wears  his  shoes  inside  the  house,  and  never  takes 


OCCUPATIONS.  125 

off  his  cap.  He  has  a  bit  of  grass  matting  three 
feet  by  six  feet,  which  he  takes  from  the  corner  of 
the  room  and  unrolls.  Leisurely  he  proceeds  to 
sit  down  with  his  legs  crossed  under  him.  He  has 
a  little  box  which  he  unlocks,  and  takes  from  it  his 
scissors,  needles,  pins,  cloth,  etc.  He  is  now  ready 
for  operation.  He  is  a  pretty  good  imitator,  and 
insists  that  he  can  make  anything  you  want  if  you 
will  give  him  a  pattern.  Sometimes  he  does  very 
well,  and  sometimes  he  spoils  the  garment.  He 
never  will  acknowledge  that  a  garment  is  spoiled, 
and  insists  that  a  little  alteration  would  make  it  all 
right.  He  is  very  fond  of  his  midday  nap,  and  we 
shall  be  sure  to  find  him  some  hour  of  the  day  fast 
asleep.  The  wife  can't  sit  over  him  all  the  time. 
If  she  could,  she  might  as  well  do  the  work.  He 
generally  is  carrying  on  a  little  business  by  himself 
at  home,  so  a  yard  or  two  of  print  seldom  comes 
amiss.  Even  thread  and  needles  and  pins  can  be 
used.  These  he  can  quietly  slip  in  and  under  his 
garments  at  convenient  times.  If  we  think  needles 
and  thread  go  too  fast,  he  tells  us  needles  are  poor, 
and  they  don't  put  as  much  thread  on  a  spool  as 
they  used  to.  We  learn  what  Paul  meant  when  he 
said,  Take  "joyfully  the  spoiling  of  your  goods." 

Every  Monday  morning  the  washerman  cornes. 
The  housewife  has  a  book  to  keep  her  accounts 
with  him,  which  she  brings  out  while  he  proceeds 
to  count  the  soiled  clothes.  ' '  One,  two,  three, 
four —  four  sheets."  This  is  marked  down.  Then 


126  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

towels  are  counted.  It  may  be  at  this  time  some 
one  asks  for  the  mem-sahib,  and  her  attention  is 
taken  away  for  the  moment.  This  is  his  opportu- 
nity to  put  in  an  extra  garment.  If  he  is  caught, 
he  says  he  made  a  mistake  in  the  count,  but  if  not, 
he  is  a  garment  ahead,  for  he  brings  back  only  the 
number  marked.  After  all  are  counted,  he  rolls 
them  up  in  a  big  sheet,  puts  them  upon  his  head, 
and  carries  them  to  the  tank  or  river,  where  they 
are  pounded  over  stones,  or  poles,  or  slabs,  and 
boiled  in  a  coarse  soap  with  water  until  they  are 
clean.  In  this  process  buttons  are  torn  off,  and  the 
color  is  taken  out  of  prints  and  calicoes.  If  there 
are  some  good  pearl  buttons  on  the  garments,  he 
may  cut  some  of  them  off,  then  declare  they  were 
lost  in  the  washing.  They  are  again  counted  and 
checked  off  when  he  brings  them  back,  and  if  they 
tally,  all  right,  but  if  not,  he  agrees  to  make  them 
right.  Half  of  them  are  now  made  over  to  the 
dirze,  to  mend  tears  and  sew  on  buttons,  and  the 
rest  are  put  away. 

You  must  have  a  man  who  is  called  a  syce  to 
attend  your  horse.  There  are  many  reasons  for 
this.  In  the  first  place,  the  horses  are  generally  so 
vicious  that,  being  used  to  the  natives,  a  white  man 
could  not  harness  nor  saddle  them.  In  the  next 
place,  there  are  no  hitching-posts,  and  if  there 
were,  we  would  not  dare  hitch  our  horse,  for  what- 
ever was  moveable  might  be  taken  before  we  got 
back  to  our  carriage.  Again,  we  cannot  afford  the 


OCCUPATIONS.  127 

time  to  attend  to  our  horse  when  we  can  hire  it  done 
for  five  cents  a  day  and  the  man  of  course  boards 
himself,  as  do  all  the  rest  of  the  servants.  Each 
day  the  man  has  to  go  and  find  grass  where  he 
can  ;  and  all  through  the  dry  season,  with  a  sort  of 
spade  he  digs  it  up  by  the  roots.  This  is  washed 
in  the  tank  or  river  and  brought  home.  The  horse 
also  eats  dannah,  the  grain  from^which  dal  is  made. 
The  syce  and  his  family  eat  dal,  and  could  easily 
eat  the  horse's  share,  so  we  must  have  the  horse 
brought  to  the  house,  and  see  him  fed.  This  is 
not  always  possible  for  us  to  do,  and  therefore  the 
man  often  gets  some  of  the  food  the  horse  should 
have.  But  when  we  think  that  the  man  is  really 
hungry  enough  to  eat  raw  peas,  we  can  hardly  be- 
grudge him  the  little  he  may  steal. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  occupations,  we  must 
not  overlook  the  punka  wallah,  for  he  is  necessary 
to  the  very  existence  of  the  European  in  India.  A 
punka  is  a  contrivance  for  keeping  the  air  in  motion 
in  a  room.  This  is  made  by  taking  a  pole,  say  five 
inches  in  diameter,  and  anywhere  from  ten  to 
twenty  feet  long,  and  suspending  it  from  the  ceiling 
by  means  of  hooks  and  ropes.  It  hangs  down  four 
or  five  feet  from  the  ceiling,  and  is  swung  back  and 
forth  by  means  of  a  man  pulling  a  rope  which  is 
attached  to  it.  This  man  is  the  punka  wallah.  I 
fancy  I  hear  some  one  say,  "Do  you  have  some 
one  to  fan  you  ? "  Truth  compels  me  to  an- 
swer yes  to  that  question.  This  is  one  of  the 


128  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

4 '  luxuries  "  of  the  missionaries' life  that  we  some- 
times hear  about.  I  have  told  you  something  of 
the  climate,  and  the  work  of  the  missionary  is 
spoken  of  further  on.  But  we  will  have  to  em- 
phasize one  or  two  things  before  you  will  see  the 
necessity  of  a  punka  wallah.  When  the  wind  gets 
in  the  south,  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere 
rapidly  changes,  so  that  by  April  we  must  close  our 
doors  by  nine  o'clock,  and  sometimes  earlier,  to 
keep  out  the  outside  wind,  which  feels  at  times  like 
the  air  from  an  oven.  You  may  fancy  yourself 
shut  up  in  a  room  where  the  thermometer  will  be 
from  90°  to  1 00°,  and  not  the  slightest  motion  in 
the  air.  It  is  true  we  are  not  all  in  our  houses  by 
this  time  in  the  morning.  Those  who  have  gone 
out  to  the  zenanas  or  the  villages  or  schools,  do  not 
get  in  before  ten  o'clock  ;  but  some  members  of  the 
household  are  in  the  house,  and  the  punka  must  go. 
We  dress  thinly,  and  yet  if  we  get  out  of  a  room 
where  the  punka  is,  in  a  very  few  moments  the 
perspiration  will  begin  to  ooze  from  every  pore  in 
the  skin. 

English  officers,  whose  salaries  are  large,  start 
their  punkas  in  a  number  of  rooms,  and  keep  them 
going  night  and  day  for  seven  or  eight  months. 
Missionaries,  whose  salaries  will  not  admit  of  this, 
economize  their  punka  pulling  as  much  as  possible. 
But  punkas  we  must  have  to  some  extent  if  we  are 
to  live  and  work  at  all.  It  often  happens  during 
the  rainy  season  that  not  a  breath  of  air  is  stirring 


OCCUPATIONS.  1 29 

night  or  day.  At  such  times  as  this  we  must  have 
punkas  at  night  also.  The  punka  wallah  is  not 
an  unalloyed  blessing.  We  often  have  such  a  trial 
with  him  that  we  think  we  will  get  along  without 
him,  but  a  day  of  such  an  experience  causes  us  to 
decide  to  choose  the  least  of  two  evils. 

Let  me  try  to  take  the  reader  through  one  night's 
experience.  We  retire  at  ten  o'clock,  when  our 
night  men  are  supposed  to  be  on  hand.  They  are 
probably  there,  though  they  may  be  late.  We  lie 
down  with  our  thin  night  suit  on,  and  the  punka 
starts.  We  are  comparatively  comfortable,  though 
10°  cooler  would  suit  us  much  better,  and  we  go  to 
sleep.  By  and  by  we  awake  with  a  feeling  of  suf- 
focation, and  we  find  our  clothes  wet  with  sweat, 
and  the  punka  standing  still.  Then  we  call  out, 
"Punka  tannow,"  which  is  an  order  to  pull  the 
punka.  It  may  move,  and  it  may  not.  If  it  does 
not,  we  get  up  and  take  hold  of  the  rope  and  give 
it  a  pull.  Our  man  who  is  pulling  is  off  in  another 
part  of  the  house,  or  out  on  the  veranda,  but  even 
in  his  sleep  he  holds  on  to  the  rope,  so  our  pull  at 
his  rope  awakens  him.  He  suddenly  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  has  been  sleeping,  and  begins  to 
pull  most  vigorously.  It  may  be  he  pulls  so  hard 
to  convince  us  that  he  has  been  wide-awake  all 
the  time.  At  all  events  he  now  pulls  so  hard  that 
the  breeze  on  our  damp  night  clothes  makes  us 
feel  chilly,  and  we  must  call  out  to  him  to  pull 
more  slowly.  This  he  is  quite  willing  to  do,  and 
9 


I3O  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

so  it  swings  more  slowly  and  keeps  on  growing 
slower  and  slower,  until  finally  it  stops  again. 
Then  we  know  our  man  has  again  gone  to  sleep. 
We  again  go  through  the  process  of  awakening  him, 
and  again  our  punka  is  pulled  spasmodically. 
We  keep  on  this  way  for  half  an  hour,  and  then 
go  out  where  the  man  is,  and  convince  him  that  he 
has  been  sleeping,  and  that  he  must  wake  up  thor- 
oughly and  keep  awake.  It  may  be  we  tell  him 
if  he  can't  do  better,  we  must  get  some  one  else. 
Now  he  is  thoroughly  aroused,  and  pulls  steadily, 
and  we  retire  and  go  to  sleep  again,  only  to  re- 
peat the  experience  an  hour  or  two  hence.  We 
get  up  in  the  morning  feeling  that  we  have  not 
slept  more  than  half  the  night,  and  wish  that  we 
could  just  for  one  night  lie  down  on  a  bed  and  pull 
a  blanket  over  us,  and  sleep  without  the  ' '  luxury  " 
of  a  punka  wallah. 

There  is  a  maid-servant,  the  ayah,  who  makes 
the  beds  and  attends  the  smaller  children,  and  an- 
other servant,  the  sweeper,  who  keeps  the  house 
and  yard  clean.  All  in  all,  the  servants  are  as 
faithful  and  honest  as  so  many  persons  would  be 
in  America  if  they  were  often  pinched  with  hunger. 
There  are  many  trials  in  connection  with  so  many 
people  about  the  house,  and  one  often  wishes  con- 
ditions were  different.  But  since  they  are  as  they 
are,  we  make  the  best  we  can  out  of  them.  We 
like  the  servants,  as  a  rule,  and  they  become  at- 
tached to  us.  They  are  very  polite,  and  seldom 


OCCUPATIONS.  I  3  I 

give  us  a  saucy  answer.  They  will  bear  a  great 
deal  of  hardship  and  fatigue  without  grumbling, 
and  our  interest  is  always  paramount  with  them, 
next  to  their  own.  Their  wages  range  from  one 
dollar  to  two  dollars  and  a  half  a  month,  except  in 
the  larger  cities,  where  they  are  more.  Most  of 
the  servants  we  had  were  with  us  a  number  of 
years,  and  when  we  left,  some  of  them  prostrated 
themselves  at  our  feet,  and  wept  as  if  their  hearts 
were  breaking. 


'•     \£?» 

M.  D.  (HARV'D) 
GITS'  HJEQAI/TH   DEPT. 

IXXS  AN  G  ifiLJSS,  O  AJU 

CHAPTER  XL 

A   GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM. 

THERE  are  many  languages  spoken  in  India, 
many  nationalities  represented,  and  adherents  to 
many  kinds  of  religions.  Away  back  at  the  very 
dawn  of  history,  fifteen  or  twenty  centuries  before 
Christ,  when  our  Aryan  brothers  first  entered  India 
as  invaders,  there  were  hordes  of  people  scattered 
over  its  fertile  plains.  These  aborigines  were  wor- 
shipers of  evil  spirits.  They  thought  it  better  to 
appease  the  wrath  of  the  evil  spirits,  their  enemies, 
than  to  invoke  the  blessing  of  the  good  spirits. 
Though  many  of  these  tribes  have  been  grafted 
into  Hinduism,  they  still  retain  some  of  these 
practises. 

Hinduism  is  not  what  it  was  three  or  four  thou- 
sand years  ago.  The  Hindus  were  never  mono- 
theistic, but  were  formerly  much  nearer  so  than 
now.  Then  they  said  :  ' '  Suerja,  the  sun,  drives 
away  the  cold  and  gives  us  light,  and  should  re- 
ceive adoration  ;  Indra,  rain,  makes  our  rice  and  mil- 
let and  grass  grow,  and  should  be  worshiped  ;  Agni, 
fire,  is  powerful,  and  should  be  an  object  of  our  de- 
votions." In  Vedic  times  they  reasoned  thus,  and 
had  but  thirty-three  gods  ;  eleven  in  heaven,  eleven 
on  the  earth,  and  eleven  in  mid-air.  Gradually 
I '32] 


A   GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  133 

they  came  to  believe  that  everything  was  but  a 
manifestation  of  supreme  power,  or  a  part  of  the 
supreme  power,  and  should  be  worshiped  ;  and  so 
their  thirty-three  gods  multiplied  into  thirty-three 
millions. 

The  Hindus  are  idolaters.  The  more  educated 
do  not  wish  to  be  classed  with  those  who  worship 
idols,  and  there  are  defenders  of  Hinduism  in 
America  and  England  who  do  not  call  them  idola- 
ters. I  have  more  than  once  talked  with  educated 
Hindus  who  claimed  that  they  were  not  worshiping 
the  idol,  but  God,  which  the  idol  represents.  They 
say,  ' '  As  you  Christians  believe  that  God  is  in 
everything  and  everywhere,  so  do  we,  and  therefore 
he  is  in  this  brass  idol  and  in  this  tree  which  we 
worship. "  That  sounds  very  well,  but  two  things 
must  be  borne  in  mind  in  this  connection  ;  and  the 
first  is,  they  do  not  think  God  is  in  everything,  and 
thus  worship  him,  for  the  priest  must  put  on  the 
mark  before  an  image  or  a  tree  becomes  an  object 
of  worship.  The  other  is  that  the  great  mass  of 
the  common  people  think  the  idol  itself  has  the 
power  to  hear  and  to  help. 

Before  the  Aryans  settled  down  to  till  the  soil, 
they  were  but  wandering  herdsmen,  and  their 
wealth  consisted  of  their  cattle.  Even  after  they 
became  cultivators,  they  were  anxious  to  increase 
their  herds.  The  faithful  bullock  plowed  their 
fields,  and  bore  upon  his  back  their  burdens,  and 
the  cow  gave  them  milk  and  butter.  If  any  object 


134  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

was  worthy  of  adoration,  it  was  these  faithful 
animals  ;  so  the  cow  and  the  bull  early  became 
sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  devout  Hindu.  The  image 
representing  a  crouching  bull  is  called  Mahadab, 
and  means,  literally,  ' '  great  god. " 

A  queen  who  lived  near  our  mission  in  India, 
realizing  that  her  end  was  near,  had  brought  to  her 
side  her  favorite  cow,  and  taking  its  tail  in  her 
hand,  passed  quietly  and  contentedly  into  the  spirit 
land. 

We  find  a  great  many  such  images.  Some  of 
these  are  of  gigantic  size,  as  the  one  near  the 
Well  of  Knowledge  in  the  city  of  Benares ;  others 
are  small.  Some  are  kept  in  public  places,  and 
others  in  temples  and  private  houses. 

Motherhood  is  the  one  great  thing  to  be  desired 
on  the  part  of  a  wife  in  India  ;  and  no  disgrace, 
scarcely,  is  greater  than  that  of  being  childless. 
Such  women  are  taught  that  if  they  perform  a 
proper  worship  at  the  shrine  of  Mahadab,  they  may 
become  mothers.  There  are  many  things  in  con- 
nection with  the  worship  of  this  image,  of  which  I 
cannot  speak,  for  with  our  ideas  of  decency,  they 
would  be  considered  obscene  in  the  extreme. 

The  Hindus  attach  great  sanctity  to  certain 
places,  and  think  a  visit  to  these  places  will  in 
some  way  bring  great  good  to  them.  Among  the 
most  noted  of  these  is  Benares.  What  Mecca  is 
to  the  Mohammedans,  or  Jerusalem  to  the  Jews, 
that  is  Benares  to  the  Hindus.  I  was  once  on  the 


A  GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  135 

train  in  the  same  compartment  with  two  well-edu- 
cated native  gentlemen,  going  up  from  Mogul  Sarai 
to  Benares.  As  soon  as  the  minarets  of  its  mosques 
and  the  spires  of  its  temples  came  in  sight  they  ex- 
claimed, ' '  Behold  our  sacred  city  !  "  Built  upon 
the  high  and  sloping  banks  of  the  Ganges  River, 
from  a  distance  it  presents  a  beautiful  appearance. 
Closer  acquaintance,  however,  removes  the  delusion. 
But  to  the  devout  Hindu  the  very  sight  of  it  brings 
raptures  of  joy ;  for  if  he  can  but  bathe  in  the 
sacred  Ganges,  in  this  the  holiest  of  cities,  great 
merit  is  put  down  to  his  credit  by  the  god  who 
keeps  a  careful  record  of  all  our  good  and  bad 
deeds,  and  offsets  the  one  by  the  other.  What 
wonder  is  it  then  that,  for  miles  along  its  banks, 
priests  may  be  seen  sitting  every  day  in  the  year 
under  their  large  umbrellas  to  receive  the  offerings 
of  the  pilgrims  who  have  come  from  all  parts  of 
India  to  bathe  in  Ma  Ganga  —  Mother  Ganges  ? 

Here,  too,  are  the  burning  places  to  which  the 
dead  are  borne  from  as  great  a  distance  as  possible, 
for  if  their  ashes  can  be  sprinkled  on  the  holy  river, 
the  day  of  their  complete  redemption  will  be  ha- 
stened. Sometimes  aged  people  come  here  to  die. 

A  ride  in  a  boat,  gently  floating  with  the  cur- 
rent, in  the  morning,  for  a  distance  of  four  miles, 
down  by  these  bathing  places  will  make  impres- 
sions never  to  be  forgotten.  There  is  devotion 
enough  to  awe  you  into  silence  and  meditation, 
and  disgusting  sights  enough  to  sicken  you  at  heart 


136  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

and  stomach.  It  may  truly  be  said  of  many  of  the 
Hindus  that  they  are  "weary  and  heavy  laden." 
They  seem  extremely  restless,  as  if  in  possession  of 
the  knowledge  that  they  are  a  long  way  from  God, 
and  are  trying  to  find  their  way  back  to  him  Many 
of  them  spend  the  last  years  of  their  lives  in  going 
from  one  shrine  to  another.  Some  of  them  are 
satisfied  with  visiting  a  single  shrine. 

There  are  places  of  established  merit,  and  there 
are  others  for  which  priests  and  pandas  are  trying 
to  work  up  a  reputation.  Brindaban  has  long  been 
one  of  the  most  sacred,  its  priests  claiming  for  it 
even  greater  sanctity  than  that  of  Benares  itself. 
It  is  a  city  full  of  temples,  and  Seth's  Temple  is  the 
most  beautiful  and  costly  of  them  all,  in  fact,  the 
most  costly  Hindu  temple  in  the  world.  The  king 
of  Jeypore  is  building  one  now  at  Brindaban  which 
will  be  a  rival  to  the  celebrated  Taj  Mahal.  When 
I  was  at  the  place,  a  few  years  ago,  five  hundred 
men  had  been  at  work  on  it  five  years,  and  it  was 
still  far  from  being  completed.  Here  also  come 
pilgrims  in  great  numbers. 

Four  miles  from  Brindaban  is  the  city  of  Muttra, 
on  the  River  Jumna,  between  Agra  and  Delhi. 
This  is  the  reputed  birthplace  of  Krishna,  consid- 
ered as  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu.  On  the  plains 
near  the  city  he  fed  his  herds,  and  numerous  relics 
of  antiquity  attest  the  sanctity  with  which  the  place 
is  invested.  Krishna  was  no  doubt  a  hero,  strong 
and  brave  in  battle,  as  well  as  too  full  of  craft  and 


A  GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  137 

cunning  for  his  enemies  to  succeed  against  him. 
He  defended  the  city  of  Muttra  against  eighteen 
attacks  by  the  father-in-law  of  Kansa,  and  finally, 
after  complete  victory,  sat  and  rested  here  on  the 
banks  of  the  Jumna.  From  being  a  hero  he  gradu- 
ally became  transformed  into  a  god,  and  is  now  as 
extensively  worshiped  as  any.  The  word  beshram 
means  resting  ;  and  therefore  Beshram  Ghat  means 
the  resting-gate,  or  stairs.  Being  the  spot  where 
Krishna  rested,  devotees  visit  it  from  all  parts  of 
India. 

At  this  ghat  several  things  of  unique  interest  are 
seen,  though  widely  different  in  their  nature.  One 
is  the  tall  pillar  near  by  called  Suttee  Bourge,  or 
the  pillar  of  suttee.  It  is  a  memorial  pillar  erected 
on  the  spot  where  a  live  queen  was  burned  beside 
her  dead  husband.  Then  there  are  the  huge  tur- 
tles which  abound,  and  to  feed  which  seems  to  be 
part  of  the  duty  of  the  pilgrims.  The  turtles  will 
justle  each  other  in  trying  to  get  the  lion's  share 
of  the  parched  rice  thrown  to  them.  Equally 
curious  are  the  ' '  weighing  arches. "  Kings  and 
princes  making  pilgrimages  to  this  place  have,  on 
some  occasions,  erected  arches,  fastened  scales  to 
the  top  of  them,  and  weighed  themselves  against 
so  many  pounds  of  gold,  avoirdupois,  giving  the 
gold  to  the  priests. 

Far  up  toward  the  northwest  of  India  the  River 
Ganges  emerges,  clear  and  cold,  from  the  moun- 
tains into  the  plains  ;  and  a  city  called  Hurdwar  is 


138  DAILY   LIFE    IN   BENGAL. 

built  upon  its  banks  at  this  point.  Brahminical 
teachings  have  attached  great  sanctity  and  impor- 
tance to  this  place,  and  here  also  every  year  come 
thousands  of  pilgrims.  Once  in  twelve  years  the 
place  has  especial  virtues,  and,  in  this  year,  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  visit  it.  The  railroads  are  taxed 
for  weeks  to  their  utmost,  carrying  people  in  stock- 
cars,  crowded  together  as  thickly  as  possible,  as 
well  as  on  the  regular  trains.  Thousands  also  go 
on  foot ;  for  more  virtue  lies  in  making  a  pilgrim- 
age on  foot  than  by  train. 

The  day  that  I  visited  the  place  was  sadhus 
day.  The  word  sadhu  means  holy  man,  or  devotee. 
These  men  had  congregated  from  different  parts  of 
the  country  to  the  number  of  two  thousand  or 
more.  Many  Europeans  also  were  present,  among 
them  the  present  czar  of  Russia,  who  was  then 
making  a  tour  of  India.  Very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing I  was  awakened  by  the  shrill  notes  of  a  wind 
instrument  corresponding  to  our  clarinet.  I  made 
ready  my  camera  to  take  a  photograph,  but  found 
it  impossible  to  get  near  on  account  of  the  multi- 
tude of  people.  They  began  their  exercises  by  a 
sword  performance,  and  then  were  marshaled  into 
line  for  a  procession.  First  came  sadhus  on  richly 
caparisoned  elephants,  these  were  followed  by  those 
on  camels,  then  some  on  ponies,  and,  lastly,  others 
on  foot.  I  was  told  that  they  were  to  cross  the 
pontoon  bridge,  so  stationed  myself  at  the  nearest 
available  point  to  get  a  photograph.  The  only 


A  GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  139 

remarkable  thing  about  this  day's  worship  was  that 
all  day  long  these  men,  to  the  number  of  at  least 
two  thousand,  paraded  the  streets  of  the  city,  as 
naked  as  they  were  the  day  they  were  born,  in 
the  presence  of  a  multitude  of  men,  women,  and 
children. 

Another  thing  essentially  connected  with  their 
religion  is  the  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
That  doctrine  is  simply  this  :  When  a  person  dies, 
only  his  body  dies,  and  the  spirit,  which  was  in  the 
body,  had  previously  been  in  some  other  body  and 
would  again  go  to  another  body.  All  sin,  they  say, 
must  be  punished,  and  the  suffering  we  have  in  the 
flesh  is  a  punishment  for  past  sins.  They  may  not 
be  the  sins  committed  in  this  body,  but  in  some 
previous  body.  We  argue,  if  sorrow  comes  to  us 
here,  it  may  all  be  rectified  in  the  future  life.  They 
argue  that  it  comes  from  the  past  life.  We  are 
inspired  through  suffering  and  trials  to  hope  on  ; 
they  have  no  incentive  to  hope.  They  say  when 
they  have  been  born  enough  times,  and  suffered 
enough  to  atone  for  all  sins,  then  they  will  be  ab- 
sorbed and  become  a  part  of  God.  More  than  four 
million  births,  in  different  forms  of  life,  are  ordi- 
narily necessary  fully  to  purify  the  soul.  But  su- 
preme acts  of  penance  can  have  a  great  deal  to  do 
in  cutting  short  these  cycles  of  births.  Hence  we 
have  the  sadhu,  or  devotee. 

A  close  view  of  a  sadhu  reveals  a  man  with  an 
unshaven  face  and  uncut  hair.  Often  his  hair 


I4O  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

hangs  down  in  a  matted  condition  to  his  waist,  or 
lower.  His  body  is  covered  with  ashes,  and  he  has 
on  but  the  scantiest  bit  of  cotton  cloth  around  his 
loins.  In  winter  a  very  coarse  blanket  is  thrown 
over  the  shoulders  and  hangs  down  the  back.  The 
villagers  light  a  fire  for  them,  if  it  be  winter,  under 
some  tree,  and  here  they  sit,  eat,  and  sleep.  Some- 
times the  sadhu  crouches  on  a  bed  of  sharp  spikes, 
several  hours  a  day,  while  in  his  hands  he  holds  his 
sacred  beads  on  which  he  calls  over  the  names  of 
his  gods.  The  badge  of  his  calling  is  a  pair  of  iron 
tongs,  which  he  uses  to  lift  the  coals  of  fire  to  put 
on  his  pipeful  of  gunja ;  for  all  of  this  class  stupefy 
themselves  by  smoking  this  terrible  drug.  Some- 
times their  long  hair  is  coiled  on  the  top  of  their 
heads. 

They  may  at  times  be  seen  with  one  hand  held 
up  until  it  becomes  fixed  in  that  position,  and  some- 
times even  both  hands  are  thus  extended.  The 
poor  fellow  in  the  illustration  had  had  his  hands  in 
this  position  for  twelve  years  when  I  took  the 
photograph.  I  said  to  him, — 

4 '  Don't  your  arms  pain  you  ? " 

"  Not  now,"  he  replied.  "  When  I  first  began, 
they  pained  me  so  I  could  not  endure  it,  and  so  I 
had  to  tie  them  up  ;  but  after  they  became  fixed, 
they  did  not  hurt  any  more." 

On  entering  the  low  door  of  a  house,  he  must 
bend  his  body,  allowing  his  hands  to  enter  first. 
The  common  people  do  these  singular  creatures 


HINDU  DEVOTEE. 


A   GLANCE    AT    HINDUISM.  14! 

homage,  and  even  the  better  educated  and  wealthy 
often  bow  down  to  the  earth  in  front  of  them. 

As  I  was  coming  up  the  street  with  this  man,  a 
babu  (native  gentleman)  came  out  and  saluted 
him,  and  asked  him  to  stop  a  moment  until  his  son 
should  come  out.  Soon  the  son  came.  He  was 
a  young  man,  well  dressed,  and  attending  the  gov- 
ernment college  at  Balasore.  He  at  first  put  his 
hands  together  in  a  suppliant  attitude,  and  made  a 
low  bow  to  the  sadhu.  But  that  would  not  do. 
The  sadhu  told  him  to  prostrate  himself  in  the 
dust,  which  the  young  man  at  once  proceeded  to 
do.  Then  the  sadhu  put  his  foot  upon  him,  to 
emphasize  his  humiliation.  The  underlying  idea 
in  pilgrimages  is  this  doctrine  of  transmigration  of 
souls,  and  penance  is  more  often  performed  in 
this  way  than  in  any  other. 

Among  the  many  images  worshiped,  few  occupy 
a  more  prominent  place  than  Juggernaut.  He  is 
simply  a  hideous,  armless,  legless,  carved  piece  of 
wood.  There  are  several  legends  which  attempt 
to  account  for  his  form,  and  also  for  the  sanctity 
of  the  town  of  Puri,  —  called  also  Juggernaut, —  in 
the  southern  part  of  Orissa,  where  he  originally 
appeared.  At  Puri  is  his  greatest  temple  ;  but  in 
many,  and,  in  fact,  every  town  in  Orissa  and  Ben- 
gal, his  temples  are  seen.  The  word  means,  "  lord 
of  the  world,"  and  the  great  virtue  of  a  pilgrimage 
is  to  see  him,  rather  than  to  worship. 

As  our  house  was  on  the  great  pilgrim  road,  we 


142  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

had  opportunity  of  seeing  and  conversing  with 
many  of  the  pilgrims.  Every  day  hundreds,  and 
many  days,  thousands,  of  these  poor  creatures 
could  be  seen  going  to,  or  returning  from,  Puri.  If 
we  asked  them  what  benefit  they  hoped  to  get  from 
a  sight  of  Juggernaut,  they  would  reply,  ' '  Mukti  " 
(freedom  from  sin). 

At  all  times  of  the  year  pilgrims  go  more  or  less 
to  see  Juggernaut,  but  in  much  larger  numbers 
when  what  is  known  as  the  rath  jatra,  or  car  fes- 
tival, is  to  take  place.  This  is  the  occasion  of  the 
annual  ride  of  Juggernaut.  There  are,  in  fact, 
three  days,  during  which  the  idol  is  exposed  to  pub- 
lic view.  The  first  is  the  bathing  festival,  when 
he  is  taken  from  his  temple,  and,  on  a  lofty  plat- 
form, in  the  presence  of  a  vast  multitude  of  people, 
is  bathed  by  the  priests.  They  bathe  themselves 
every  day,  but  their  god  only  once  a  year  ;  so  not 
being  used  to  cold  water,  he  is  supposed  to  take  a 
severe  cold.  He  is  therefore  taken  back  and  put 
into  his  temple  for  ten  days,  when  he  is  again 
brought  out,  and,  by  the  assistance  of  the  priests, 
is  made  to  walk  up  the  inclined  bridge  from  the 
ground  to  the  platform  of  his  huge  car.  He  is 
placed  under  a  canopy  made  of  different  colored 
cloths,  and  his  car  is  festooned  with  flowers.  By 
his  side  sit  his  brother  Balarama  and  his  sister 
Subhadra,  or  they  may  have  separate  cars.  Three 
ponderous  ropes,  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred 
feet  long,  are  attached  to  the  car,  and  these  are 


JUGGERNAUT  WITH  His  SISTER  AND  BROTHER  ON  THEIR  CAR. 


PILGRIMS  GOING  TO  JUGGERNAUT. 


A   GLANCE    AT   HINDUISM.  143 

laid  along  the  street  as  far  as  they  will  extend. 
When  the  priests  and  musicians  have  assembled 
on  the  platform  of  the  car,  and  the  people  have 
taken  hold  of  the  ropes,  to  the  number  of  some- 
times ten  thousand,  the  officiating  priest  gives 
the  order  for  the  car  to  move.  The  musicians, 
with  drums  and  horns  and  cymbals  and  other  kinds 
of  instruments,  more  designed  to  produce  noise 
than  harmony,  begin  to  play,  and  the  people  begin 
to  shout,  and  the  great  car  begins  to  move.  It  is 
a  monstrous,  unwieldy  affair,  and  with  nothing  to 
guide  it  but  the  ropes,  often  does  damage  to  build- 
ings along  the  streets.  Juggernaut  is  taken  to  a 
neighboring  temple,  where  his  maternal  aunt  is 
supposed  to  reside,  and  after  staying  there  a  week, 
is  again  placed  on  his  car,  —  though  with  much  less 
enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the  people  than  on  the 
first  occasion, —  and  is  taken  back  to  his  own  tem- 
ple, where  he  sits  until  the  next  year. 

In  the  city  of  Puri,  pilgrims  congregate  to  the 
number  of  from  one  to  two  hundred  thousand  to 
witness  the  rath.  When  the  return  festival  is  over,  • 
they  begin  to  disperse.  To  get  a  correct  idea  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  pilgrims  during  their  long  jour- 
neys, and  their  stay  at  Puri,  one  must  see  them. 
The  rath  occurs  in  the  month  of  July,  when  the 
rains  are  well  upon  us,  and  there  are  but  scant 
accommodations  for  the  people,  and  many  have 
not  the  means  to  provide  themselves  with  shelter, 
even  if  shelter  could  be  had  ;  so  thousands  sleep 


144  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

under  trees  on  the  damp  ground,  thus  bringing  on 
cholera  and  other  destructive  and  contagious  dis- 
eases. To  see  a  sick  or  dying  or  dead  pilgrim 
lying  alone,  deserted  by  his  friends,  under  the  shade 
of  some  banian-  or  pepul-  or  mango-tree,  is  a  most 
common  sight. 

This  temple  at  Puri  is  supposed  to  be  the  richest 
shrine  in  all  India.  It  employs  seven  hundred/tf«- 
dast  or  Hindu  missionaries,  who  go,  two  and  two, 
into  the  villages  all  through  India,  to  tell  the  poor, 
ignorant  people  of  the  great  virtues  of  Juggernaut, 
and  so  persuade  many  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  who 
otherwise  would  not  go. 

The  pandas  make  a  careful  inquiry  into  the 
financial  standing  of  every  one  who  engages  to 
go  on  a  pilgrimage  ;  this  list  is  handed  to  the 
priests  at  Puri,  and  each  one  is  charged  according 
to  his  wealth  to  see  Juggernaut  in  his  temple  ; 
none,  however,  being  admitted  for  less  than  twenty 
rupees,  or  about  six  dollars.  If  they  have  not 
this  amount,  the  priests  .lend  to  them,  taking  as 
interest  an  equivalent  to  three  cents  on  a  dollar 
per  month.  This  is  regarded  as  a  sacred  obliga- 
tion, and  binding  upon  the  individual  and  his  chil- 
dren and  successors  for  fourteen  generations.  The 
priests  often  extort  the  last  cent  pilgrims  have,  and 
they  are  allowed  to  start  home,  not  knowing  where 
the  next  meal  is  to  come  from. 

They  sometimes  go  on  a  pilgrimage  by  prostra- 
tions. The  person  making  this  kind  of  pilgrimage 


His  Pravi'i. 


His  Prostration. 
A  DEVOTEE  MAKING  A  I'IIXJRIMAGE  TO  JITOGEHXAUT  BY  PROSTRATIONS. 


A   GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  145 

will  stand  in  the  road,  put  his  hands  together  in  a 
suppliant  attitude,  offer  a  short  prayer,  and  then 
prostrate  himself  in  the  road,  reaching  out  his 
hands  as  far  as  possible,  and  with  a  spike  which  he 
carries  in  his  right  hand,  makes  a  mark  in  the  dust 
or  mud,  as  the  case  may  be.  He  then  gets  up,  puts 
his  toes  to  this  mark,  says  his  prayer,  and  again 
prostrates  himself.  Three  miles  is  the  utmost 
distance  a  man  can  go  in  a  day  in  this  way,  and 
more  often  they  can  go  but  a  mile.  They  some- 
times are  three  years  in  making  this  kind  of  pil- 
grimage. 

One  morning  in  the  month  of  May,  one  of  the 
hottest  of  our  months,  I  met  one  of  these  men  who 
was  willing  to  talk.  Often  they  take  a  vow  of 
silence  and  speak  to  no  one  for  the  whole  time 
occupied  in  a  pilgrimage  ;  but  this  man  stood  as 
soon  as  I  began  to  talk  to  him. 

I  said,  ' '  Do  you  think  God  is  pleased  to  see  you 
suffer  as  you  do  this  morning  ?  " 

Said  he,  ' '  Yes,  he  is. " 

"But  you  are  one  of  God's  children,  and  he  is 
full  of  love  for  his  children,  even  though  they  have 
gone  a  long  way  from  him  in  sin. " 

"No, "said  he,  "God  is  not  full  of  love;  he  is 
very  cruel. " 

Words  were  useless  ;  for  the  man  had  set  his 
face  toward  Puri,  and,  after  resting  a  moment, 
resumed  his  long  and  weary  journey. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  people  can  worship  in 

10 


146  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

their  own  dooryard  before  the  toolsy  plant,  and 
can  worship  under  green  trees,  still  they  have  thou- 
sands of  temples.  Some  of  these  are  but  the  rudest 
of  shanties,  and  some  are  magnificent  structures, 
and  especially  so  if  looked  at  from  a  distance. 
Many  of  them  are  covered  with  stucco-work  from 
bottom  to  top.  These  figures  represent  scenes  in 
their  mythology,  and  to  us  whose  education  is  so 
unlike  theirs,  often  seem  vulgar,  or  to  have  a  sug- 
gestion of  lewdness.  I  am  told  that  the  inside  is 
worse  than  the  outside  in  this  respect.  No  Chris- 
tian ever  entered  a  Hindu  temple,  so  I  cannot 
speak  from  experience.  In  fact,  we  must  not  sup- 
pose that  a  Hindu  temple  is  for  the  Hindus  to 
worship  in.  They  are  for  the  idols  and  the  priests. 
In  the  morning  the  priests  perform  the  worship  in 
the  temple,  and  come  out  and  sit  on  the  porch, 
and  smoke  their  pipe,  and  chew  their  pan,  and 
gossip,  and  bathe  in  the  tank  near  by ;  but  they 
do  not  say  comforting  words  to  the  poor  and 
weary  and  heavy  laden.  They  do  not  try  to  lift 
the  loads  off  shoulders  which  are  all  but  crushed, 
but  on  the  other  hand,  lay  heavier  burdens  upon 
them. 

No  glance  at  Hinduism  would  be  at  all  complete 
without  a  reference  to  caste.  Caste  is  social  dis- 
tinction based,  not  upon  wealth,  position,  educa- 
tion, or  character,  but  upon  birth.  It  is  perfectly 
natural  for  people  of  like  tastes  to  associate  to- 
gether, and  so  the  bigoted  Hindu  tells  us  that 


A  GLANCE   AT   HINDUISM.  147 

Christian  nations  have  caste.  I  have  more  than 
once  been  told  by  them,  that  there  is  just  as  much 
caste  in  England  as  in  India.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  th&t  there  is  too  much  of  a  caste  feeling 
growing  up  in  some  places,  even  in  our  own  coun- 
try ;  but  it  is  very  different  from  the  caste  of  India. 
There  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  people  in  the 
highest  circles  in  this  country  from  going  down 
into  the  slums  and  helping  raise  up  the  fallen.  In 
fact,  they  are  doing  that  very  thing,  and  year  by 
year  are  doing  more  of  that  kind  of  work  ;  but  not 
so  with  the  caste  people  of  India.  A  high-caste 
man  does  not  want  to  touch  a  low-caste.  He  must 
on  no  account  eat  with  him.  If  he  does,  he  be- 
comes an  out  caste.  When  some  of  these  men  in 
our  Parliament  of  Religions  in  Chicago,  said  that 
they  laid  down  a  platform  which  they  thought  was 
broad  enough  for  all  to  stand  upon  ;  namely,  ' '  The 
fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  brotherhood  of  man," 
they  were  loudly  cheered.  I  have  many  friends 
among  the  high-caste  gentlemen  of  the  city  of 
Balasore,  in  which  we  lived  ;  but  truth  compels  me 
to  say  that  they  know  practically  nothing  of  the 
principle  of  the  "brotherhood  of  man."  Caste 
and  that  principle  are  at  variance.  Caste  is  the 
very  essence  of  Hinduism,  and  when  it  is  destroyed, 
Hinduism  will  fall. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AN   OUTLINE   OF   THE   HISTORY   OF  PROTESTANT 
MISSIONS. 

A  GREAT  many  centuries  ago  Syrian  Christians 
existed  along  the  Malabar  Coast  (northwestern 
coast  of  India).  When  Vasco  de  Gama,  a  Portu- 
guese navigator,  went  to  India  early  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  he  found  these  Christians  with 
their  own  chieftain  and  their  own  distinct  govern- 
ment. They  were  in  no  way  connected  with 
Hindu  rulers.  To  this  day  they  have  their  priest 
and  bishop  and  Sunday  service  and  liturgy,  such 
as  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch  used,  and  are  called, 
wherever  known,  « '  St.  Thomas  Christians. "  The 
Syriac  Version  of  the  Scriptures  was  brought  to 
India  about  A.  D.  325. 

The  Portuguese  planted  a  few  mission  stations 
a  number  of  centuries  ago,  and  in  1642  the  Dutch 
began  work  in  Ceylon.  But  what  I  wish  more 
particularly  to  speak  of,  are  the  missionary  efforts 
either  within  the  past  century  or  of  those  efforts 
which  led  to  the  activity  of  the  past  century  in  mis- 
sionary work  by  Protestants. 

To  the  Danes  first  belongs  this  honor.  In  1705 
two  young  Germans,  Bartholomew  Ziegenbalg  and 
Henry  Plutschau,  were  sent  to  Tranquebar,  a  city 
[148] 


IROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  149 

about  two  hundred  miles  south  of  Madras  (on  the 
southeast),  to  commence  mission  work  among  the 
Hindus.  These  men  were  scholars  and  devoted  to 
their  work.  In  those  early  days  there  were  many 
more  difficulties  to  contend  with  than  there  are 
now.  Often  they  were  in  sore  need  of  money,  and 
at  one  time  Ziegenbalg  was  imprisoned  for  four 
months.  When  he  came  out,  he  found  that  the 
work  he  had  been  crystallizing  up  to  that  time,  was 
all  broken  up.  But  though  cast  down,  he  was  not 
destroyed,  and  with  characteristic  energy  he  began 
his  work  over  again.  Six  years  after  his  arrival  in 
the  country,  he  had  completed  a  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  into  the  Tamil  language.  His 
literary  and  evangelistic  labors  were  abundant,  but 
not  of  very  long  duration,  for  in  1719  he  died, 
mourned  by  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  Christians 
whom  he  had  rescued  from  heathenism.  The  same 
year  three  other  new  missionaries  came  and  joined 
the  mission,  among  whom  Schultz  received  the 
mantle  of  Ziegenbalg.  The  latter  had  translated 
the  Old  Testament  as  far  as  the  book  of  Ruth. 
Schultz  completed  it.  He  was  not  confined  to 
Tamil,  but  studied  other  languages,  and  translated 
portions  of  the  Bible  into  Telugu  and  Portuguese, 
and  the  entire  Bible  into  Hindustani.  He  began 
work  in  Madras,  and  extended  it  to  other  towns 
with  a  zeal  which  was  consuming.  In  Madras, 
after  fifteen  years  of  work,  he  had  seven  hundred 
Christian  persons  in  his  congregation,  to  say  noth- 


I5O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

ing  of  his  work  in  Tranquebar    (on   the   coast   of 
Madras)  and  elsewhere. 

July  30,  1750,  Christian  Friedrich  Schwartz 
arrived  in  India.  He  was  a  man  of  deep  piety, 
great  zeal,  broad  education,  excellent  judgment, 
humble  spirit,  with  but  few  wants,  and  with  an 
affectionate  and  loving  nature.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  the  people  were  drawn  to  him.  The  natives 
loved  and  revered  him,  the  Hindu  king  of  Tanjore 
(in  Southern  India)  appointed  him  as  guardian  to 
his  adopted  son,  while  the  British  government 
appointed  him  arbitrator  between  itself  and  the 
haughty  Hyder  AH,  who  had  taken  possession  of 
the  kingdom  of  Mysore  and  was  spreading  terror 
in  every  direction.  "Let  them,"  says  Hyder, 
' '  send  me  the  Christian  Schwartz,  for  he  will  not 
deceive  me."  The  Tanjore  mission  was  founded 
by  him,  and  mission  stations  all  along  the  line  were 
greatly  strengthened.  The  native  Christians  of 
Tranquebar,  Madras,  Cuddalore,  Trichinopoli, 
and  Palumcotta  numbered  fifty  thousand  when 
Schwartz,  "the  apostle  of  India,"  in  the  year  1798, 
after  forty-eight  years  of  uninterrupted  service  in 
the  mission  field,  died. 

William  Carey  came  to  India  in  1793.  His  field 
of  labor  was  far  removed  from  that  of  Schwartz,  as 
he  came  at  once  to  Bengal.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
he  was  really  the  pioneer  in  mission  work  in  Cal- 
cutta, for  Kiernander,  a  Dane,  had  preceded  him, 
and  had  met  with  some  success.  But  the  coming 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  I  51 

of  Carey  was  an  important  event  in  the  history  of 
Protestant  missions  in  Bengal,  and  in  fact  in  all 
India.  When  he  first  proposed  to  his  brethren  in 
England  the  plan  of  giving  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen,  he  met  with  but  little  sympathy.  Still,  in 
the  face  of  opposition,  he  succeeded  in  organizing 
the  Baptist  Mission  Society  in  1792,  and  he  was 
appointed  its  first  missionary.  Almost  from  the 
beginning  of  his  work  in  India,  he  met  with  oppo- 
sition from  the  East  India  Company.  To  get  to 
India  at  all,  he  was  obliged  to  come  in  a  Danish 
ship,  as  the  Company  refused  him  passage  in  any 
of  theirs.  Upon  his  arrival  in  the  country,  he  at 
once  began  the  study  of  the  language,  but  as  the 
receipts  of  the  society  which  sent  him  out  were 
very  small,  want  was  staring  him  in  the  face.  He 
went  to  the  Soonderbuns,  and  thought  to  farm 
some  and  at  the  same  time  instruct  the  people. 
But  the  air  of  the  Soonderbuns  was  poisoned  with 
malaria,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go  elsewhere.  He 
accepted  a  position  in  an  indigo  factory  in  Malda 
(about  midway  between  Calcutta  and  Darjiling). 
He  remained  here  for  five  years,  and  during  that 
time  translated  the  New  Testament  into  Bengali, 
and  preached  a  great  many  times.  In  1799  four 
English  Baptist  missionaries  (Marshman,  Ward, 
Brunsdon,  and  Grant)  arrived  in  Calcutta,  but 
when  they  let  their  object  be  known,  the  gov- 
ernor-general determined  to  send  them  back  to 
England.  They  put  themselves  under  the  protec- 


152  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

tion  of  the  Danish  governor,  Colonel  Bie,  at  Seram- 
pore  (near  Calcutta),  who  gave  them  help  and 
sympathy  and  also  refused  to  surrender  them  to  the 
East  India  Company.  Carey  determined  to  leave 
his  work  at  the  indigo  factory  and  join  them.  Thus 
began  the  work  at  Serampore,  so  famous  in  the 
history  of  missions.  Here  the  missionaries  entered 
into  a  compact  to  have  all  things  common,  and, 
after  purchasing  a  large  house  and  printing-press, 
went  heart  and  soul  into  that  work  which  has  made 
their  names  famous  in  history.  Their  time  was 
occupied  in  preaching  in  the  villages  and  streets, 
printing  the  Bible  and  portions  of  it  in  Bengali, 
answering  inquiries,  and  explaining  the  Christian 
religion  to  those  who  came  to  the  house  to  hear. 
Their  first  convert  was  baptized  in  1800,  in  the 
presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  and  in 
the  following  year  they  completed  the  translation  of 
the  Bible  in  Bengali.  Carey,  on  account  of  his 
linguistic  abilities,  was  appointed  professor  of  San- 
skrit, Bengali,  and  Marathi  in  Fort  William  College, 
first  at  a  salary  of  $3000  a  year,  which  was  after- 
ward increased  to  $7500  a  year,  all  of  which  was 
thrown  into  the  common  fund  of  the  ' '  Brother- 
hood "  at  Serampore,  and  which  was  of  invaluable 
help  to  them  in  their  work.  When  Carey  be- 
gan his  lectures  in  Bengali  as  professor,  there  was 
not  a  single  prose  work  existing  in  that  language. 
Now  there  are  thousands  of  volumes  flooding  the 
country. 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  153 

These  missionaries  set  the  noble  example  of  put- 
ting their  heel  on  the  head  of  the  serpent,  caste, 
at  the  very  beginning.  At  the  first  communion 
service  the  cup  was  given  to  a  low-caste  man 
before  it  was  to  a  Brahmin  convert. 

This  chapter  is  designed  to  be  no  more  than  a 
synopsis  of  the  history  of  Protestant  missions  in 
India.  Sherring's  History  will  give  the  reader 
details  of  mission  work,  its  rise  and  development 
in  different  sections  of  the  country,  and  the  differ- 
ent fields  of  the  different  societies. 

From  these  beginnings  the  work  has  extended, 
and  the  methods  these  early  missionaries  adopted, 
are  the  methods,  with  variations,  in  use  at  the 
present  day.  From  time  to  time  other  societies 
both  from  England  and  America  have  planted 
mission  stations  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  until 
there  is  at  the  present  time  a  network  of  centers 
from  Ceylon  in  the  south  to  the  Punjab  in  the 
north,  and  from  Assam  in  the  east  to  the  river 
Indus  in  the  west.  It  is  true,  vast  numbers  have 
no  intelligent  idea  of  Christianity,  and  millions 
have  no  idea  at  all  except  to  know  there  is  such 
a  religion,  but  the  centers  are  occupied  and  the 
light  is  radiating. 

We  have  no  statistics  of  an  earlier  date  than 
1851.  Then  there  were  91,092  Protestant  native 
Christians  in  India.  In  1881,  or  in  thirty  years, 
they  had  increased  to  417,372,  and  ten  years  later, 
according  to  government  statistics  of  1891,  to  559,- 


154 


DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 


66 1.  It  would  be  very  interesting,  if  this  were  the 
place  for  it,  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  forty-nine 
societies  now  operating  in  the  country  ;  tell  the 
field  they  occupy,  the  native  and  ordained  agents 
of  each,  and  the  Christian  communities  of  each. 
We  will,  for  the  sake  of  reference,  group  the  cog- 
nate bodies  together,  regardless  of  the  countries 
from  which  they  came,  and  give  a  summary  of  sta- 
tistics. The  statistics  of  this  table  are  condensed 
from  the  statistical  report  of  the  last  Decennial 
Missionary  Conference  of  India,  given  in  1890. 


NAME  OF  DENOMINATION. 

Number  of  their 
Societies. 

Number  of  For- 
eign Ordained 
Agents. 

its 

•s^e 

6    ""8 

•2  »  >>•£ 

6  >  «  « 

S'St-i-V 

Z 

Number  of  Na- 
tive Christians. 

Baptist  

IO 

120 

640 

133,122 

Congregational  

2 

76 

666 

77,466 

Episcopalian  

6 

2O"? 

Ilq 

193,363 

Presbyterian  . 

13 

I4Q 

"584 

^4,'IQC 

Lutheran  

7 

125 

4H 

62,838 

Methodist  

i 

no 

677 

32,381 

Moravian  

•* 

16 

23 

398 

\Vomiin'  s  Societies                          .  .    . 

Supplement 

I 

Converts  not  connected  with  any  of  the 

above  societies  

ISO 

Total      

40 

808 

4122 

559,661 

These  figures  speak  for  themselves.  With  this 
army  of  intelligent,  consecrated  workers,  and  on 
the  side  of  God,  what  can  they  not  accomplish  ? 


fvl.  O.  (HARV'D) 
COTY  HJQAI/TH   DEFT. 

ZX>S  AJNQBlLJfiS.  OAJU 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

MISSION   WORK   AND   HOW   CARRIED   ON. 

DURING  the  time  I  have  been  in  India,  I  have 
had  the  privilege  of  visiting  a  number  of  mission 
fields  besides  our  own,  and  have  also  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  their  methods  of  work.  I  find 
that  most  mission  societies  work  along  on  about 
the  same  lines,  so  when  I  speak  of  our  work,  and 
perhaps  of  some  personal  experiences,  they  may  be 
taken  as  representative  of  mission  work  in  general 
so  far  as  methods  are  concerned. 

Places  where  mission  work  is  established,  are 
called  either  "stations"  or  "  out-stations."  A  sta- 
tion is  the  place  where  one  or  more  missionaries 
live,  where  there  is  a  Christian  church,  and  usually 
more  or  less  of  other  lines  of  work.  An  out-station 
is  a  place  connected  with  the  station  ;  /.  e. ,  under 
charge  of  one  of  the  missionaries  of  the  station. 
There  may  or  may  not  be  a  branch  church  or  a 
school.  There  are  lines  of  work  in  proportion  to 
the  size  of  the  place,  and  its  importance.  In  nearly 
all  of  the  larger  stations  there  is  a  native  pastor, 
as  assistant  to  the  missionary  pastor.  He  is  ordi- 
narily a  faithful  and  competent  man,  except  that 
as  a  rule  he  lacks  executive  ability.  In  the  church 
the  services  are  conducted,  upon  the  whole,  about 

['55J 


I$6  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

the  same  as  they  are  in  their  respective  denomina- 
tions at  home.  In  some  of  our  churches  all  the 
people  sit  on  the  floor  on  grass  mats,  while  in 
others  the  women  sit  on  the  floor,  and  the  men 
and  boys  on  chairs  and  benches,  while  in  still 
others,  and  especially  in  the  large  cities,  all  sit  in 
chairs  or  pews.  In  our  own  mission  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  people  in  our  churches  sit  on  the  floor. 
This  is  the  way  they  sit  in  their  houses,  so  they 
prefer  it  to  any  other  position. 

The  service  is  conducted  in  the  vernacular  lan- 
guage of  the  place.  There  are  one  hundred  and 
twenty  languages  and  dialects  in  India,  so  there 
are  that  many  languages,  or  nearly  as  many,  used 
in  the  services  of  the  churches.  In  our  mission 
there  are  four  Indian  languages  besides  the  Eng- 
lish used.  The  two  principal  languages  are  those 
derived  directly  from  the  Sanskrit,  and  these,  there- 
fore, are  very  similar  ;  namely,  Bengali  and  Oriya. 
Hindustani  is  a  language  which  is  generally  under- 
stood by  the  better  educated  natives  all  over  India. 
This  is  used  at  times,  and  especially  in  preaching 
to  up-country  pilgrims.  The  fourth  is  the  Santali, 
and  entirely  unlike  these  last  three.  It  belongs  to 
another  family  of  languages  entirely,  as  the  Santals 
were  among  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  hun- 
dreds of  years  before  the  Sanskrit  came  into  India. 

Our  churches  are  built  either  of  brick  or  mud, 
like  buildings  described  in  a  previous  chapter. 
The  windows  are  of  plain  glass,  if  there  be  any 


MISSION    WORK.  157 

glass  windows.  More  often  there  is  nothing  in  the 
windows  but  heavy,  strong  shutters.  The  seats 
are  not  upholstered,  and  the  floor  is  not  carpeted 
save  at  times  with  grass  matting,  or  large  coarse 
cloth  spreads.  In  country  churches  usually,  a  tem- 
porary mat  is  spread  just  for  that  particular  service. 
The  worshipers,  as  a  rule,  come  dressed  in  clean 
white  cotton  clothes.  There  is  some  exception, 
but  only  enough  to  make  a  pleasing  variety.  Some 
of  the  women  may  have  on  yellow  or  purple  silk, 
and  some  of  the  children  bright  red.  A  few  of  the 
more  wealthy  men  may  have  on  a  black  or  tussur- 
silk  chapkan.*  Those  wearing  the  latter  garment 
will  have  on  pantaloons,  while  the  greater  number 
wear  the  dilute?  The  cloth  of  the  women,  whether 
it  be  pure  white  with  a  border  of  some  bright  color, 
or  silk,  is  the  sari*  The  women  have  some  jewelry 
on  their  wrists  and  fingers,  and  if  vain  and  of 
means,  may  have  a  heavy  silver  chain  around  the 
hips. 

Let  us  stand,  if  you  please,  at  the  gate  in  front 
of  the  church  as  the  last  bell  on  a  Lord's-day  morn- 
ing is  calling  the  people  to  worship.  See  them 
come  from  their  homes,  and  file  along  the  narrow 
streets  of  their  villages.  Watch  them  as  they  enter 


1  A  long  coat  worn  by  the  native  men. 

*A  cloth  five  yards  long  which  is  wound  around  the  loins  and 
covers  the  legs  to  some  extent. 

8  A  cloth  five  yards  long  wound  around  the  body,  and  coming  over 
the  head. 


158  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

the  church  until  it  is  nearly  or  quite  full.  Let  us 
go  in  ourselves  and  look  around.  Here  are  the 
men  and  boys  on  one  side,  and  the  women  and 
girls  on  the  other.  Perhaps  we  are  surprised  to 
see  them  so  separated,  but  we  must  remember  that 
among  the  Hindus  the  men  and  the  women  do  not 
sit  together,  nor  eat  together,  nor  walk  along  the 
street  together.  If  a  man  and  his  wife  are  travel- 
ing together,  he  usually  walks  before  her,  carrying 
an  umbrella  over  his  head,  while  she  comes  be- 
hind. If  there  be  a  baby  to  carry,  she  has  it. 
Our  native  Christians  cannot  in  a  single  generation 
cast  all  their  prejudices  behind  them,  and  sit  with 
their  women  folks  on  the  floor.  They  are  learning 
more  and  more  the  true  relationship  of  the  family. 
A  generation  hence  we  shall  probably  see  them 
all  sitting  together,  but  now  we  do  not. 

We  shall  see  behind  the  desk  the  dark-faced 
preacher,  and  hear  him  read  from  the  same  Book 
we  hear  read  in  this  country.  Its  precepts  and 
promises  find  the  same  echo  in  hearts  there  as  here, 
for  like  temptations  and  burdens  come  to  them. 
He  lifts  his  heart  and  voice  to  the  same  God  for 
a  blessing  upon  his  flock.  He  prays  for  himself, 
that  he  may  be  able  to  speak  the  word  in  plain- 
ness and  in  love,  and  with  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit. 
He  reads  a  hymn.  It  may  be  a  translation  from 
an  English  hymn,  or  written  by  one  of  the  native 
hymn-writers.  The  congregation  all  join  in  sing- 
ing the  hymn.  We  are  not  used  to  their  music,  so 


MISSION    WORK.  159 

it  may  sound  discordant  to  us,  and  at  times  there 
is  discord  ;  but  after  we  get  used  to  their  singing, 
we  rather  enjoy  it.  The  minister  announces  his 
text,  and  preaches  a  sermon,  good,  bad,  or  indiffer- 
ent, the  same  as  we  may  hear  in  America.  Usually, 
however,  they  preach  with  eloquence  and  fervor. 
It  would  not  always  happen  that  the  native  pastor 
would  be  preaching.  If  the  missionary  pastor  were 
in  the  station,  he  might  be  preaching.  If  we  would 
realize  the  benefits  Christianity  has  conferred  on 
these  people,  contrast  their  appearance  and  char- 
acter with  Hindus  of  the  same  social  grade. 

There  are  those  among  English  officials  who  de- 
nounce missionary  effort  and  native  Christians.  I 
have  seen  some  such.  The  trouble  is,  they  have 
not  been  looking  for  the  best  types.  The  story  is 
told  of  one  such  going  home  to  England.  On  the 
ship  was  also  a  missionary  returning.  The  official 
was  not  slow  in  denouncing  the  native  Christians. 
"  In  fact,"  said  he,  "  I  have  never  seen  a  genuine 
native  Christian. "  He  had  been  a  great  sportsman, 
and  talked  often  of  his  tiger  hunts  and  the  number 
he  had  shot.  The  missionary  said  to  him  one  day, 
"I  have  been  in  India  twenty  years,  and  have 
never  seen  a  tiger.  You  say  you  have  seen  many. 
You  have  been  in  India  five  years,  and  you  say  you 
have  never  seen  a  native  Christian.  I  have  seen 
many.  You  have  been  looking  for  tigers,  and  I  for 
Christians.  We  have  both  found  what  we  have 
been  looking  for."  All  our  native  Christians  are 


l6o  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

not  faithful.  Sometimes  they  do  not  come  to  the 
prayer-meetings  and  other  social  meetings  of  the 
church.  There  are  some  who  quarrel,  and  it  is 
not  impossible  to  find  those  who  will  cheat,  and 
even  lie.  I  have  heard  of  such  things  in  churches 
in  America,  where  for  all  our  lives  through  we  have 
been  taught  of  Christ  and  his  precepts,  and  where 
good  influences  instead  of  evil  have  surrounded  us. 
But  while  there  are  the  unfaithful,  there  are  also 
the  faithful  ones.  There  are  those  who  will  suffer 
as  much  persecution,  and  endure  as  many  hard- 
ships, and  are  as  abundant  in  labor,  as  those  of 
any  land  or  in  any  age. 

In  every  station  there  are  more  or  less  schools  to 
be  looked  after.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  co-edu- 
cation except  with  very  small  children  ;  therefore 
the  Christian  boys'  schools  and  girls'  schools  are 
separate  institutions.  There  is  a  secretary  for  each. 
There  may  be  a  separate  one  for  each,  or  one  per- 
son can  be  secretary  for  both.  The  secretary  is  the 
important  official  in  a  school  there.  He  has  the 
financial  responsibility,  pays  the  teachers,  collects 
the  fees  and  fines,  makes  returns  monthly  to  the 
government  of  attendance  and  receipts  from  all 
sources,  etc. 

The  government  is  liberal  in  its  grants  to  mis- 
sion schools,  and  is  deserving  of  the  thanks  of  all 
missionaries.  In  consideration  of  these  grants,  it  re- 
serves the  right  to  inspect  schools  and  prescribe  text- 
books. It  is  better  for  the  schools  that  they  should 


MISSION   WORK.  l6l 

be  subject  to  government  inspection,  for  the  teach- 
ers do  better  work,  and  the  pupils  have  a  better 
standing.  There  is  quite  a  large  range  of  text- 
books, so  that  suitable  ones  can  be  had.  I  can  say, 
after  having  been  secretary  of  a  number  of  schools 
for  many  years,  that  I  never  suffered  inconve- 
nience, nor  had  my  plans  thwarted  by  government 
interference.  In  our  Christian  boys'  schools  there 
are  always  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  boys  as  well 
as  Christian  boys.  Every  morning  our  school  was 
opened  with  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  singing,  and 
prayer.  We  cannot  compel  Hindu  nor  Moham- 
medan boys  to  be  present  at  these,  but  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  they  are  generally  there,  and  frequently 
take  part  in  these  exercises.  The  last  year  we 
were  in  Balasore,  a  Hindu  boy  took  the  first  prize 
for  proficiency  in  Bible  study. 

We  aim  to  put  Christian  teachers  in  these  schools 
as  far  as  possible,  but  it  often  happens  that  we  can 
get  a  better  teacher  among  the  Hindus  than  we  can 
available  men  in  our  Christian  community.  There 
is  a  vast  difference  between  putting  a  Hindu  teacher 
in  one  of  our  Hindu  schools,  and  putting  a  Hindu 
teacher  in  a  Christian  school  under  missionary  su- 
pervision. A  Hindu  teacher  in  these  little  Hindu 
schools  may  in  five  minutes  after  the  missionary 
has  left  the  school  (after  inspection),  counteract 
anything  he  may  have  said  by  explaining  it  away, 
or  making  it  apply  to  their  religion.  In  a  Christian 
school  it  is  very  different.  The  teacher's  work 
ii 


1 62  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

there  is  not  to  teach  religion,  but  secular  branches 
of  study.  He  in  no  way  interferes  with  the  religion 
of  his  pupils.  If  he  be  a  Hindu  and  should  speak 
against  the  Christian  religion,  there  would  be  any 
number  of  boys  to  report  him.  He  would  not 
jeopardize  his  position  by  doing  so.  Besides,  the 
Christian  boys  in  the  school  have  other  Christian 
influences  thrown  about  them  in  the  home,  and 
Sunday-school,  and  church.  To  teach  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  is  not  the  object  of  the  school. 
The  object  is  to  give  the  boys  a  good  education, 
and  for  this  purpose  a  good  teacher  is  necessary. 
I  would  say  that  we  should  put  the  best  teachers 
we  can  get  in  our  Christian  schools,  but  put  only 
Christian  teachers  in  our  little  Hindu  schools.  The 
object  desired  must  govern  our  action. 

Almost  every  missionary  must  spend  from  one  to 
three  or  four  hours  a  day  at  his  writing-desk.  He 
has  quite  an  army  of  Christian  workers,  and  with 
each  of  these  he  must  keep  an  account.  If  he  is  a 
secretary  of  a  school,  he  has  all  reports  to  look 
after,  and  make  out  for  the  government,  and  to  keep 
the  school  accounts.  He  must  make  out  his  esti- 
mates for  his  work  for  the  home  society,  and  his 
report  to  it.  He  has  many  personal  correspond- 
ents. From  all  over  the  home  land,  more  or  less, 
there  are  coming  requests  for  something  to  read  at 
the  mission  society  or  the  yearly  conference.  The 
editors  of  our  papers  and  magazines  say  some- 
times, and  in  fact,  often,  "Write  us  more  articles." 


MISSION   WORK.  163 

Then  in  addition  to  this,  many  missionaries  do  a 
great  deal  of  literary  work.  School-books  are 
written,  and  tracts  of  different  kinds  in  the  ver- 
nacular, and  translations  are  made  from  English 
books.  When  we  remember  that  when  Carey 
began  his  work  in  India  a  century  ago,  there  was 
not  a  single  prose  work  in  Bengal  in  the  vernacular, 
and  no  literature  of  a  pure  character  at  all,  and 
that  now  the  Bible  has  been  translated  into  almost 
every  dialect,  and  thousands  of  books  and  tracts 
can  be  had,  we  can  see  that  somebody  has  done 
something  in  the  literary  line.  Then  also  the  mis- 
sionary has  contributed  to  the  literature  of  the 
world  by  giving  us  works  on  science,  philosophy, 
religion,  etc. ,  of  not  only  India  but  all  other  coun- 
tries into  which  he  has  gone. 

In  almost  every  large  station  there  is  some  at- 
tempt to  teach  the  Christian  boys  and  girls  some 
useful  trade.  These  industrial  schools,  or  an  indus- 
trial department  to  the  day-schools,  are  becoming  a 
necessity.  The  government  is  also  seeing  this,  and 
offering  very  liberal  grants  to  efficient  schools  of 
this  kind.  These  are  especially  needed  in  Christian 
communities,  for  we  want  Christian  artisans  as  well 
as  teachers  and  preachers.  Every  preacher  and 
teacher  ought  to  know  how  to  do  something  more 
than  simply  to  preach  and  to  teach.  If  the  people 
can  get  hold  of  this  idea,  a  long  step  will  be  made 
toward  India's  redemption.  The  people  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  thinking  that  if  a  man  is  a  clerk  or 


164  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

a  teacher,  he  must  not  soil  his  hands  with  manual 
labor.  As  a  result,  there  are  thousands  with  a  good 
education  who  have  no  employment,  and  are  of  no 
use  to  society.  The  aim  in  establishing  these  in- 
dustrial schools  is  not  only  to  teach  a  useful  trade, 
but  to  teach  that  manual  labor,  even  for  a  preacher 
or  a  teacher,  is  far  more  honorable  than  idleness. 

Nearly  all  missions  have  schools  of  a  higher 
grade,  and  some  have  theological  seminaries  and 
colleges.  Missions  need  the  best  trained  men  they 
can  get.  Hinduism  has  able  scholars,  and  Chris- 
tianity must  be  able  to  put  men  of  intellect  in  the 
field.  It  is  still  the  "foolishness  of  preaching," 
but  the  preaching  of  such  men  as  Paul  had  a  won- 
derful influence  on  the  heathen  mind.  Through  the 
schools  of  various  grades  our  native  Christians  are 
pushing  their  way  to  the  front  very  fast.  In  pro- 
portion to  their  numbers,  they  are  outstripping  all 
others  in  government  examinations.  Through  the 
law  of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest,"  Christianity 
must  make  its  way.  But  we  are  not  to  conquer  by 
that  slow  and  natural  process,  but  by  the  might 
of  God's  Spirit.  A  prominent  place  is  given  to 
Sunday-school  work,  young  people's  meetings,  tem- 
perance societies,  meetings  for  mothers,  teachers' 
meetings,  etc.  No  effort  is  being  spared  to  put 
our  Qhristians  on  a  higher  plane  intellectually  and 
spiritually. 

Aside   from  the  work  for  our  native  Christians, 


MISSION   WORK.  165 

a  great  many  kinds  of  work  are  being  carried  on 
for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  There  are 
schools  for  poor  Hindu  children  here  and  there 
throughout  the  cities  and  towns.  These  are  called 
4 '  ragged  schools, "  but  really  they  should  be  called 
naked  schools,  for  as  a  matter  of  fact,  many  of  the 
children  come  naked,  or  nearly  so.  You  may  find 
these  schools  in  various  places,  sometimes  under 
the  spreading  limbs  of  a  banian-tree,  sometimes 
on  the  veranda  of  a  house,  and  sometimes  in  a 
house  built  on  purpose  for  them.  The  teacher 
may  be  a  Christian  man  or  woman,  or  a  Hindu. 
The  pupils  sit  on  the  ground  and  with  a  hard  kind 
of  chalk  write  on  sand,  or  on  a  smooth  board,  or 
on  a  slate.  They  write  as  the  teacher  gives  them 
the  pattern.  He  makes  the  first  letter  of  the  alpha- 
bet, tells  its  name  in  a  loud  voice,  and  bids  each 
of  them  do  the  same.  Their  efforts  at  making  it 
are  various,  but  they  can  all  pronounce  it  in  a  loud 
voice.  So  they  sit  hour  after  hour  making  the  let- 
ters, and  each  time  shouting  in  concert  their  names. 
From  the  letters  they  go  on  to  something  more 
complicated.  These  schools  are,  as  a  rule,  under 
the  supervision  of  some  lady  missionary,  and  she 
visits  them  as  often  as  possible  to  inspect  the  work 
being  done,  and  teach  Bible  verses  and  stories  and 
the  catechism. 

The  great  event  in  the  year  with  the  children  of 
these  schools,  is  the  annual  distribution  of  presents. 


1 66  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

Friends  from  England  and  America  send  out  dolls, 
patchwork,  and  various  other  things  so  that  this 
occasion  is  made  possible.  Some  lady  of  the  sta- 
tion presides  to  distribute  the  presents,  and  the 
superintendent  reads  out  the  names.  When  Phul- 
mani,  Malati,  Sundari,  Haramani,  and  many  other 
similar  names  are  called  off,  the  possessor  goes 
forward  to  receive  her  present.  It  is  almost  need- 
less to  say  that  on  such  occasions  they  are  dressed 
in  the  best  the  house  can  afford.  When  they  re- 
ceive their  presents,  each  makes  a  low  bow,  which 
is  about  the  only  demonstration  observed. 

The  work  of  the  zenana  teacher  is  important. 
A  glance  at  the  life  of  these  women  and  their 
homes,  will,  I  think,  convince  us  of  this.  The 
zenana  in  Bengal  is  the  home  of  the  high-caste 
women.  These  women  are  married  even  before 
they  are  women.  At  the  tender  age  of  eleven  or 
twelve  years,  they  go  to  live  with  their  husbands, 
whom  they  may  never  have  seen  before,  and  in  the 
selection  of  whom  they  have  had  no  choice.  This 
is  done  by  the  parents.  The  time  for  the  wedding 
is  when  the  village  astrologer  says  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  are  auspicious.  It  is  a  great  time  in  the 
home  of  the  bride,  the  day  she  is  married,  for  all 
the  relatives  and  friends  must  be  feasted,  and  the 
air  is  filled  with  the  music  of  the  village  band,  and 
garlands  of  flowers  adorn  the  house  and  premises. 
But  it  seems  to  us  that  the  happy  days  must  be 
over,  when  the  marriage  ceremony  is  over,  for  the 


MISSION   WORK.  167 

little  girl  wife  is  put  in  apalky1  and  carried  to  the 
home  of  her  husband's  father,  which  to  her,  is  a 
strange  house.  Here  she  is  placed  under  the  care 
of  her  mother-in-law  who  may  treat  her  kindly,  or 
who  may  not.  If  we  can  believe  half  we  hear,  the 
latter  is  more  likely  to  be  her  lot.  Her  husband 
stands  by  his  mother,  rather  than  by  his  wife,  so  is 
it  any  wonder  that  many  days  and  nights  are  spent 
in  loneliness  and  crying  ?  Not  only  is  there  but 
little  joy  in  the  home,  but  she  is  shut  out  from  all 
the  beauties  of  the  outside  world,  for  she  is  a  pris- 
oner now  for  life.  The  house  may  have  a  number 
of  windows,  but  they  are  high,  and  barred,  and 
there  is  but  one  outside  door,  which  she  must  never 
approach.  From  the  court  in  the  center,  she  can 
see  some  grass  and  flowers  which  may  be  growing 
in  it,  and  always  the  sky  overhead,  but  that  is  all. 
If  she  ever  returns  to  see  her  mother's  home,  it 
must  be  in  this  same  palky,  with  a  colored  cloth 
tied  closely  over  it  so  she  cannot  even  look  out. 
Until  recently  none  of  these  women  could  even 
read  or  write,  as  the  Hindus  did  not  think  it  nec- 
essary to  educate  girls.  Our  lady  missionaries 
wanted  to  enter  these  homes,  and  a  way  was 
opened  through  the  desire  of  the  native  gentle- 
men to  have  their  wives  learn  fancy  work.  Mrs. 
Mullins,  of  Calcutta,  was  the  first  to  gain  access  to 
these  prison  homes,  by  agreeing  to  teach  the  babu's 

1 A  long  box  with  poles  at  each  end,  by  means  of  which  people 
are  carried  on  the  shoulders  of   men. 


1 68  DAILY   LIFE    IN   BENGAL. 

wife  how  to  make  embroidered  slippers,  with  the 
privilege  of  teaching  her,  at  the  same  time,  to  read 
the  Bible.  That  was  the  key  which  unlocked  the 
door,  and  it  has  remained  open  ever  since. 

If  you  were  in  a  mission  station  at  Midnapore  or 
Balasore,  you  would  see  each  morning  either  a 
large  covered  wagon  or  a  number  of  native  carts 
coming  to  the  home  of  the  superintendent,  and 
from  here  start  to  the  bazaars.  Either  all  the 
native  Christian  women  teachers  would  congre- 
gate here  or  at  some  point  on  the  road,  where 
they  could  be  taken  up.  In  these  conveyances 
they  are  taken  down  in  the  vicinity  of  the  zenanas, 
where  they  separate,  going  two  by  two  into  the 
houses.  They  teach  the  women  to  read,  write, 
sew,  and  embroider.  They  must  learn  to  read 
before  you  can  put  good  books  into  their  hands. 
The  object  of  this  work  is  not  only  to  brighten 
their  lives  for  to-day,  but  to  open  the  door  of  their 
hearts  for  the  entering  in  of  the  Light  which  will 
help  to  brighten  their  lives  all  through  the  years 
to  come. 

Each  morning  also  you  might  see  the  superin- 
tendent starting  off  on  her  rounds  to  visit  these 
same  houses.  She  must  see  that  faithful  work  is 
being  done  by  the  teachers,  and  look  to  the  prog- 
ress of  the  pupils  in  secular  and  religious  knowl- 
edge. This  is  her  opportunity  really  to  accomplish 
the  work  which  is  uppermost  in  her  heart  —  the 
bringing  of  her  pupils  to  Christ. 


MISSION   WORK.  169 

Another  part  of  the  work  is  the  sending  out  of 
Bible  women.  These  women  are  lay  preachers 
really,  and  go  from  house  to  house  just  as  the  zen- 
ana teachers  do,  only  they  do  not  go  so  much  to 
the  homes  of  the  rich,  and  their  work  is  not  to 
teach  reading  and  writing,  but  to  evangelize.  They 
sit  upon  the  verandas,  or  in  the  rooms,  and  read 
the  Bible,  sing  hymns,  talk,  and  pray  with  the 
women  who  gather  around  them.  They  find  many 
sad  lives,  but  are  sometimes  able  to  inspire  hope 
by  telling  the  story  of  Christ's  life,  and  what  he 
came  to  do  for  those  who  accept  him. 

Connected  with  almost  every  mission  is  at  least 
one  orphanage  for  both  boys  and  girls.  These  of 
course  are  separate,  and  the  girls'  are  generally  the 
fullest,  as  people  will  always  part  with  their  girls 
first.  These  are  filled  from  various  sources.  Some- 
times the  mother  dies,  and  the  father  cannot  care 
for  all  the  family.  Sometimes  both  die,  and  the 
children  either  hear  of  these  homes  for  the  home- 
less, and  wander  to  them  themselves,  or  some  one 
brings  them.  Sometimes  the  police  find  a  child  by 
the  wayside.  In  this  way  they  come,  and  are  pro- 
vided with  a  home,  and  are  cared  for  and  educated. 
Some  of  our  best  workers  come  from  these  homes. 

Bazaar  preaching  is  also  carried  on  in  all  the 
larger  stations.  The  bazaar,  we  must  remember, 
is  the  business  part  of  a  town,  so  bazaar  preaching 
is  simply  street  preaching.  This  work  is  always 
done  in  the  evening,  and  for  two  reasons.  One  is, 


I7O  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

it  is  cooler,  and  we  can  work  with  no  fear  of  the 
sun,  and  the  other  is,  we  can  meet  the  people.  The 
principal  meal  of  the  day  is  eaten  just  before  the 
people  retire  at  night,  and  they  come  to  the  bazaar 
to  buy  food  for  this  meal,  and  for  the  following 
day's  dinner.  This  is  why  we  can  find  people  in 
the  evening.  There  are  also,  in  larger  stations, 
rest-houses  for  pilgrims  where,  for  a  few  cents,  they 
may  cook  and  eat  and  rest  for  the  night,  or  even 
at  times  for  a  few  days.  We  may,  therefore, 
always  meet  more  or  less  of  these  at  our  preaching 
stand. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked  me,  ' '  How 
•do  you  conduct  bazaar  preaching  ?  "  In  the  station 
in  which  we  lived,  Balasore,  there  were  two  prin- 
cipal bazaars,  and  in  each  of  these  we  had  a  preach- 
ing stand.  These  stands  were  simply  platforms 
of  brick-work,  and  situated  in  the  most  public 
places  in  the  bazaars.  At  about  six  o'clock  I  would 
meet  one  or  two  of  the  native  preachers  at  one  or 
the  other  of  these  stands.  We  might  have  with  us 
a  man  to  sell  tracts,  or  we  might  ourselves  have 
some.  We  would  begin  by  singing  a  hymn,  or 
playing  upon  some  instrument.  The  music  would 
attract  the  people,  and  from  the  shops  near  by,  or 
the  market  square  they  would  begin  to  gather 
around  the  stand.  It  might  be  pilgrims  would  be 
passing,  and  hearing  the  singing,  would  stop. 
When  the  singing  was  over,  we  might  offer  a  short 
prayer,  or  read  a  few  passages  of  Scripture,  or  pro- 


MISSION   WORK.  I/I 

ceed  at  once  to  address  the  people.  We  must 
always  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  preaching  to  peo- 
ple who  know  but  little,  and  often  nothing,  of  the 
Christian  religion  ;  therefore,  our  preaching  must 
be  simple  and  explanatory  as  a  rule.  If  it  would 
attract  attention,  it  must  abound  with  illustrations. 
This  might  serve  as  one :  ' '  Midnapore  is  north  of 
us,  and  Cuttack  is  south.  If  you  were  walking 
south,  and  wanted  to  go  to  Midnapore,  what  would 
you  do  ? "  The  answer  would  come  back  from  the 
crowd,  ''Turn  around  and  go  in  the  other  direction." 
Then  you  apply  your  illustration :  ' '  Heaven  is  a 
pure  place,  and  God  is  pure,  but  if  you  are  walk- 
ing in  sin,  you  are  going  away  from  this  pure  place. 
What  must  you  do  to  go  to  heaven  ? "  ' '  Turn 
around."  Then  we  may  tell  them  of  Christ,  who 
is  the  way  to  the  Father.  Simple  Bible  illustra- 
tions and  parables  are  always  profitable.  The 
story  of  the  prodigal  son  always  arrests  their  atten- 
tion. Personal  experiences  are  good,  and  espe- 
cially if  some  self-righteous,  conceited  young 
Brahmin  wants  to  argue.  Tell  the  people  how  your 
life,  your  hopes,  your  ambitions,  your  desires,  have 
all  been  changed.  Tell  them  how,  by  accepting 
Christ,  he  has  saved  you  from  the  love  of  sin,  from 
the  guilt  of  sin,  and  from  the  power  of  the  evil  one. 
Now  you  may  say,  ' '  Here  is  a  young  man  who 
says  Hinduism  is  as  good  as  any  religion.  Let  him 
get  up  on  the  platform,  and,  tell  you  how  it  has 
saved  him  from  a  sinful  life,  and  changed  the  cur- 


1/2  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

rent  of  his  life  entirely."  Of  course  he  has  no 
experience  of  that  kind,  and  usually  he  has  noth- 
ing more  to  say. 

We  do  not  always  have  an  orderly  crowd.  There 
may  be  lepers  there,  who  have  business  in  view. 
They  catch  your  eye,  and  reach  out  their  distorted 
hands  for  a  little  money.  Some  man  wants  to  sell 
a  cow  or  a  goat  by  auction,  and  thinks  that  crowd 
would  be  a  good  one  to  bid.  You  must  tell  him 
that  for  the  time  being  this  is  a  preaching  stand, 
but  when  you  leave,  he  can  use  it  to  auction  off 
his  cow. 

Some  young  men  from  the  college  who  are  study- 
ing English  may  want  to  tell  what  they  have  learned 
against  Christianity  from  Ingersoll's  or  some  other 
infidel  works.  Brahmin  priests  may  be  there  to 
oppose.  Their  craft  is  in  danger,  and  they  must 
not  sit  quietly  by,  and  see  it  destroyed.  Pilgrims 
are  there.  These  have  gone  long  journeys,  seek- 
ing rest  and  freedom,  and  are  weary  and  heavy 
laden  both  with  a  sense  of  their  need  and  the  fa- 
tigue of  the  way.  To  invite  such  unto  the  One 
who  said,  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  is  a 
blessed  privilege.  Sometimes  they  come.  All  the 
seed  sown  is  not  sown  on  good  ground,  neither  is 
it  all  wasted.  As  in  the  parable  of  the  sower,  so 
it  is  here.  I  have  known  of  a  number  of  conver- 
sions as  the  result  of  bazaar  preaching. 

In  many  respects  country  work  is  the  most  en- 


MISSION    WORK.  173 

joyable  and  inspiring  of  any  work  the  missionary 
has  to  do.  As  a  rule,  it  is  carried  on  in  the  cold 
season.  We  already  know  what  this  is  like.  The 
telling  of  our  message  to  those  who  have  never 
heard  it,  adds  new  interest  to  the  work.  ' '  How 
is  it  conducted  ?  Tell  us  all  about  it,"  are  ques- 
tions I  have  to  answer  often.  When  the  rains  are 
over,  and  the  fields  are  dry,  we  overhaul  our  tents 
and  put  them  in  order,  look  over  our  books  and 
tracts,  and  order  more  if  necessary,  see  what  food- 
supplies  we  have,  and  notify  our  native  workers 
when  we  are  going  to  start. 

Our  carts  are  secured  for  a  month,  and  are 
brought  to  the  house  to  be  loaded.  Our  tent-poles 
are  tied  under  the  cart,  and  a  stretcher  or  cot-bed 
put  on  the  cover.  Inside  we  put  bedding,  tents, 
books,  food,  and  water,  a  change  or  two  of  clothes 
for  ourselves,  and  many  other  things.  Two  or 
three  lanterns,  and  as  many  bottles  of  kerosene  oil 
will  be  tied  to  the  slats  of  the  cover.  Each  of  the 
native  brethren  has  a  box,  with  a  blanket  and  a 
shawl  tied  on  the  top  of  it,  which  he  wishes  to  put 
in  some  place.  With  difficulty  you  find  a  place  for 
these.  The  man  who  drives  the  bullocks  has  a 
bundle  of  wood  to  cook  the  bullocks'  food  (and  his 
own),  an  old  oil  tin  in  which  to  boil  it,  a  box,  and 
a  bundle  of  straw.  We  readjust  and  get  these  in 
or  on.  ' '  Are  we  ready  to  start  ? " —  No  ;  here 
comes  the  cook,  with  a  box  of  cooking  utensils, 
six  chickens  tied  together  by  the  legs,  and  his  own 


DAILY   LIFE   IN    BENGAL. 

box.  We  offer  a  silent  prayer  for  more  grace  and 
patience,  and  with  strings  and  twisted  straw  get 
these  disposed  of.  ' '  Now  hitch  on  your  bullocks, 
and  let  us  be  off  quickly,  for  it  is  getting  very  late." 
Then  the  cartman  comes,  and  asks  for  a  little  oil 
to  grease  his  cart.  "Have  you  not  greased  your 
cart  yet  ?  Why  did  you  not  grease  it  before  you 
loaded  it  ?  "  The  question  may  have  just  a  little 
of  an  impatient  sound  in  it,  if  we  are  not  careful, 
but  we  proceed  to  get  the  oil,  for  he  tells  us,  ' '  In 
this  country  it  is  the  custom  to  grease  carts  after 
they  are  loaded."  We  get  two  or  three  men  to 
help,  the  cart  is  greased,  the  driver  lifts  up  the 
yoke,  and  tells  the  bullocks  to  walk  under  their 
burden  ;  he  gets  astride  the  tongue,  gives  each  one 
a  blow,  and  we  are  really  off. 

The  objective  point  is  at  first  some  bungalow, 
or  a  village  where  there  is  none.  If  the  latter, 
we  find  some  shady  knoll  if  we  can,  and  here 
we  pitch  our  tent  and  make  ourselves  as  comfort- 
able as  possible.  Our  native  brethren  have  a  tent 
close  beside  ours.  Before  retiring,  we  ask  them 
into  our  tent,  read  a  portion  of  the  Word,  and 
each  joins  in  prayer,  and  asks  God's  blessing  upon 
us  and  the  work  we  are  to  do  in  the  village.  We 
get  in  our  cot,  and  tuck  our  mosquito-netting  as 
carefully  around  us  as  possible,  for  we  do  not  want 
any  stray  centipede  or  scorpion  as  a  bedfellow. 
We  do  not  fall  asleep  at  once,  for  there  are  many 
sounds  outside  the  tent.  The  jackal,  which  has  a 


MISSION    WORK.  175 

keen  scent  for  good  things  to  eat,  has  come  a 
mile  to  get  a  bit  of  the  chicken  we  may  have 
left  from  dinner.  Half  a  dozen  others  are  with 
him,  or  he  is  calling  to  them  from  a  distance. 
His  shrill  bark  is  not  conducive  to  sleep.  The 
dogs  in  the  village  —  lean,  cross,  scabby  dogs  — 
seem  to  think  something  unusual  has  happened, 
and  they  keep  up  a  constant  barking.  Not  far 
away  is  a  village  temple,  and  the  priests  and  their 
sons  are  singing  from  the  sacred  books.  The  music 
is  in  a  high  key,  and  sounds  like  the  song  of  the 
plowboys.  Is  it  the  singing  of  priests,  or  the  sing- 
ing of  children  in  the  Sunday-school  ?  Are  we  in 
India  or  America  ?  Sometimes  it  seems  like  one, 
and  sometimes  like  the  other,  and  we  awake  with 
the  sun  shining  through  the  opening  of  our  tent. 
The  cook  prepares  us  a  little  breakfast,  and  we  are 
ready  for  the  work  we  came  to  do.  We  hail  a 
passer-by,  and  inquire  for  the  head  man  in  the 
village.  He  tells  us  his  name,  and  shows  us  where 
he  lives.  We  go  and  call  on  him.  If  he  be  a 
friendly  man  ;  i.  e. ,  friendly  to  us,  he  will  come  out 
and  put  his  hands  together,  raise  them  to  his  fore- 
head, and  make  a  low  bow.  Then  he  brings  out  a 
piece  of  grass  matting,  and  asks  us  to  sit  down. 
The  veranda  on  the  outside  is  the  reception-room 
for  all  men  who  are  not  members  of  the  family. 
His  name  may  be  Hori  Prasad  Das.  We  talk  to 
him  of  his  crops,  cows,  and  children,  and  a  few 
things  of  this  nature,  and  then  perhaps  ask  him  if 


176  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

he  would  like  to  hear  some  good  news.  He  always 
likes  to  hear  good  news,  and  we  tell  him  the  best 
news  ever  told  the  world  :  — 

' '  As  you  have  sacred  books,  so  do  we,  and  our 
book  tells  us  of  God,  and  how  he  created  man,  and 
how  man  by  sin  went  far  away  from  God.  It  tells 
us' of  God's  great  interest  in  man,  and  how  he  tried 
to  bring  man  back  to  him  by  sending  his  Son  into  the 
world,  who  took  our  nature,  and  was  tried  and 
tempted  as  we  are,  but  did  not  sin.  He  had  com- 
passion for  the  sinful  and  suffering,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  help  them.  He  gave  the  world  the  best 
teaching  it  has  ever  received,  and  the  people  who 
live  the  nearest  these  teachings  are  the  best  and 
happiest.  If  all  would  accept  him,  and  live  by  his 
teachings,  it  would  turn  our  sorrowful  world  into  a 
heaven.  At  last  he  was  sacrificed  as  an  offering 
for  sin,  and  he  arose  from  the  grave,  and  now  lives 
to  help  all  who  want  to  come  to  him  and  follow 
after  him.  He  is  the  great  Teacher,  and  he  wants 
us  all  to  become  his  disciples."  We  talk  like  this 
to  Hori  Babu,  and  while  we  are  talking,  many  of 
his  neighbors  gather  in  his  yard,  and  sit  down  upon 
their  heels  to  listen.  We  may  ask  him  if  he  would 
not  like  to  accept  this  Teacher  as  his  teacher.  He 
would  tell  us,  probably,  ' '  What  you  say  is  very 
good,  and  those  are  certainly  good  teachings  which 
Christ  taught,  but  if  I  should  accept  them,  and  be- 
come a  Christian,  my  landlord  would  dispossess 
me,  and  my  wife  would  disown  me,  and  my  chil- 


MISSION    WORK.  177 

dren  would  not  call  me  father,  and  my  people 
would  cast  me  out. "  It  is  a  difficult  thing  for  poor 
Hori,  and  yet  some  accept.  Not  at  first,  but  after 
repeated  efforts.  Then  a  little  school  is  started  in 
his  village,  and  a  Christian  man  is  put  in  it,  and 
they  work  with  Hori's  family  and  neighbors  until 
a  church  grows  out  of  that  small  beginning.  In 
this  way  little  lights  are  being  kindled  here  and 
there,  and  they  are  growing  larger,  and  penetrating 
farther  into  the  darkness  around.  Just  when  the 
rays  from  thousands  of  centers  shall  cross  each 
other,  and  all  India  be  enveloped  in  the  ' '  Light  of 
the  world,"  none  of  us  know  ;  but  the  time  is  surely 
coming,  and  may  be  much  nearer  than  even  the  most 
sanguine  of  us  think.  May  God  hasten  the  day ! 


12 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  PROSPECT  FOR  SUCCESS. 

A  RETURNED  missionary  lady  was  asked  to  pre- 
pare a  paper  in  one  of  the  recent  May  anniversaries 
in  London  on  the  subject  of  "Discouragements  in 
Mission  Work  in  India."  She  went  on  the  plat- 
form, announced  her  subject,  and  simply  said, 
"There  are  none,"  and  sat  down.  There  are 
some,  yea,  many  obstacles  ;  and  coming  events 
so  cast  their  shadows  before,  that  it  sometimes 
seems  darker  than  it  really  is.  But  the  prospects 
are  as  good  as  the  promises  of  God.  Let  us  glance 
at  a  few  of  the  hopeful  signs  :  — 

The  opposition  of  the  Brahmins  is  encouraging. 
There  was  a  time  when  they  ignored  missionary 
efforts,  or  smiled  at  their  futile  attempts.  They 
were  like  men  in  a  fortress  gray  with  age,  and 
strong,  who  were  watching  a  few  pigmies  trying 
to  batter  down  the  walls.  They  said,  like  the 
Samaritans  who  saw  the  Jews  trying  to  rebuild  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  ' '  What  do  these  feeble  Jews  ?  " 
They  said,  "Hinduism  is  old,  and  strongly  en- 
trenched in  the  lives  and  customs  of  our  people, 
and  we  are  a  conservative  nation  ;  therefore,  what 
will  the  efforts  of  these  few  missionaries  amount 
to  ? "  But  their  indifference  has  turned  into  oppo- 
[178] 


THE   PROSPECT   FOR   SUCCESS.  179 

sition  in  some  places,  and  that  of  the  most  bitter 
kind. 

Only  a  few  years  ago  the  Madras  Hindu  Tract 
Society  was  organized  to  counteract  the  influence 
of  Christian  tracts.  It  was  not  the  purpose  of  this 
society  so  much  to  set  forth  the  excellences  of  the 
Hindu  religion,  as  it  was  to  oppose  the  Christian 
religion.  Not  very  long  ago  in  the  city  of  Benares 
a  great  meeting  of  the  Brahmins  and  pundists  was 
called  for  the  purpose  of  devising  ways  and  means 
to  stop  the  progress  of  Christianity.  It  was  first  a 
meeting  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and  then  they  en- 
tered into  a  discussion  of  their  plans.  They  said, 
' '  '  These  that  have  turned  the  world  upside  down 
are  come  hither  also.'  Their  women  enter  our 
homes,  and  are  turning  away  the  hearts  of  our 
wives,  and  the  teachers  in  the  schools  are  pervert- 
ing the  minds  of  our  children,  and  our  ears  are 
filled  with  their  bazaar  preaching,  and  their  books 
and  tracts  are  going  as  silent  messengers  into  our 
homes.  Unless  we  adopt  their  methods,  we  shall 
be  left  behind  in  the  race."  So  they  issue  and 
distribute  their  tracts,  and  preach  in  the  bazaars 
against  Christianity,  and  often  try  to  disturb  us  in 
our  preaching.  They  forget  that  it  is  the  living 
Christ  and  not  methods  which  is  the  source  of  suc- 
cess. They  may  try  to  attach  Christian  methods 
to  a  lifeless  religion,  but  they  cannot  restore  it 
to  life. 

The  people  are  becoming  unsettled  religiously. 


ISO  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

They  have  the  Brahmo-Somaj,  the  aim  of  which 
is  to  reform  Hinduism,  and  the  Arga-Somaj,  which 
promises  to  restore  to  the  people  primitive  Hindu- 
ism. Theosophy  and  sundry  isms  find  here  a  hot- 
bed in  which  to  grow.  They  want  something  they 
have  n't  got,  and  are  grasping  for  it  here  and  there. 

There  is  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  many  of  the 
people  that  Hinduism  is  to  die,  and  that  Chris- 
tianity is  to  be  the  religion  of  the  country.  Often 
in  the  bazaar  while  preaching,  we  hear  this  confes- 
sion, ' '  Christianity  is  to  be  the  religion  after  a 
time."  "Why,  then,  will  you  not  accept  it?" 
"We  cannot,"  they  say,  "come  alone,  but  when 
all  the  rest  of  the  villages  get  ready  to  come,  then 
we  will  come. " 

The  more  thoughtful  ones  know  that  there  is  no 
power  in  Hinduism  to  elevate  the  people  or  to 
make  them  better.  I  was  once  in  my  cold-season 
work  visiting  a  large  village  at  the  head  of  which 
was  a  very  intelligent  man.  In  the  course  of  a 
conversation  with  him,  I  said,  ' '  Babu,  I  want  to 
ask  you  a  few  questions  about  the  Hindu  religion. " 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  "  ask  anything  you  wish." 

' '  Are  your  people  more  truthful  than  they  were 
many  hundreds  of  years  ago  ?  " 

He  replied,  ' '  No,  I  do  not  think  they  are  as 
truthful.  In  fact,  you  can  hardly  find  a  really 
truthful  man.  We  have  a  proverb  that  says,  'If 
a  man  will  not  lie,  neither  shall  he  eat. ' ' 

"Are  your  people  more  honest  and  upright  in 


THE    PROSPECT    FOR    SUCCESS.  l8l 

their  deal  than  they  were  a  thousand  years  ago  ? " 

' '  I  do  not  think  they  are  as  much  so.  You  can 
hardly  find  a  man  who  will  not  take  advantage  in  a 
deal,"  he  replied. 

' '  Are  your  people  more  chaste  and  virtuous  ? " 

' '  There  are  very  few  pure-minded  people, "  was 
his  reply. 

"  How  long  has  Hinduism  prevailed  in  this  coun- 
try ? "  I  asked. 

' '  Three   thousand   years   or  more, "  he  replied. 

"  If  you  have  had  Hinduism  for  so  many  years, 
and  your  people  are  getting  no  better,  but,  as  you 
confess,  worse,  when  are  they  to  be  made  better 
by  Hinduism  ? " 

He  said,  ' '  We  have  no  hope  for  our  people  in 
this  age.  Our  sacred  books  tell  us  of  an  Age  of 
Truth,  and  when  that  comes,  we  shall  be  made 
better." 

It  gave  me  great  satisfaction  to  say  to  him, 
"  The  Age  of  Truth  is  already  here.  When  Christ 
came  and  began  his  great  work,  he  said,  '  I  am 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  ;  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father,  but  by  me. '  The  Age  of  Truth 
that  you  have  been  looking  for  is  found  in  Christ, 
and  all  that  you  hope  from  that  age  is  found  in 
him." 

Caste  is  the  great  strength  of  Hinduism,  and 
those  rules  are  evidently  weakening.  Caste  is  a 
chain  which  was  forged  by  the  higher  classes  to  be 
put  upon  the  necks  of  the  lower  classes.  They  are 


1 82  DAILY   LIFE   IN   BENGAL. 

finding  out  that  the  chain  forged  for  the  necks 
of  others,  is  a  most  galling  chain  upon  their  own 
necks,  and  many  of  the  more  thoughtful  ones 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  have  it  broken.  I  was 
once  detained  for  two  days  in  company  with  a  na- 
tive gentleman  in  a  small  canal-boat,  waiting  for 
the  Calcutta  steamer.  I  had  with  me  my  cook 
and  a  basket  of  food,  and  he  had  a  cook  with  him 
and  some  native  foods.  Our  meals  were  prepared 
separately,  but  when  brought  in,  we  each  shared 
freely  the  food  of  the  other.  During  those  tedious 
two  days,  we  became  very  communicative,  and  he 
told  me  freely  of  his  family  affairs,  which  were, 
briefly,  something  like  this  :  He  had  five  daughters 
and  one  son,  and  belonged  to  the  caste  next  below 
the  Brahmins.  The  marrying  of  his  daughters  to 
suitable  men  in  his  caste  had  cost  him  all  he  had 
earned  or  could  ever  hope  to  earn,  though  he  was 
getting  a  splendid  salary  from  the  government. 
The  caste  rules  of  the  Hindus  compelled  him  to 
get  husbands  for  his  daughters  in  the  same  caste, 
and  these  husbands  brought  a  big  price.  If  he 
could  go  outside  his  caste,  he  would  have  no 
difficulty,  but  as  it  was,  he  was  bound  hand  and 
foot.  He  denounced  the  system  as  galling  and 
iniquitous.  The  fact  that  he  freely  ate  with  me 
showed  how  little  he  regarded  it.  At  length  the 
steamer  came  along,  and  we  found  on  board  a 
native  deputy  magistrate  from  Balasore.  This  was 
early  in  the  morning,  before  we  had  eaten  our 


THE    PROSPECT    FOR   SUCCESS.  183 

morning  meal.  I  told  my  man  to  prepare  me  some 
tea  and  toast,  and  then  turned  and  asked  these 
two  native  gentlemen  if  they  would  not  allow  me 
to  have  some  toast  prepared  for  them.  Of  course 
they  refused.  I  did  not  expose  the  man  who  had 
been  freely  eating  my  bread  the  day  before.  Then 
he  was  with  me,  and  now  he  was  with  his  fellow 
caste  man.  We  kept  in  this  boat  until  we  got  to  the 
end  of  the  canal  at  Gewakallie.  As  the  boat  was 
not  going  up  until  morning,  the  deputy  magistrate 
and  I  hired  a  rowboat  to  take  us  across  to  Dia- 
mond Harbor,  where  we  could  get  the  train  for 
Calcutta.  This  was  a  ride  of  several  miles,  and 
on  the  way  supper  time  came,  and  each  of  us 
brought  out  our  lunch  baskets.  Now  the  gentle- 
man who  so  graciously  refused  my  offer  of  food  in 
the  morning,  was  ready  to  share  with  me  the  con- 
tents of  my  basket,  while  I  helped  him  eat  his  native 
sweets.  In  the  presence  of  each  other  neither  of 
these  native  gentlemen  would  touch  my  food,  but 
away  from  each  other,  both  would.  So  it  is.  Thou- 
sands of  the  educated  people  despise  caste,  and  yet 
they  are  held  to  its  rules  for  fear  of  each  other. 
I  called  once  on  a  native  civil  surgeon,  who  was 
acting  for  the  time  being  for  our  European  civil 
surgeon  of  Balasore.  I  said,  ' '  I  suppose,  doctor, 
you  completed  your  medical  studies  in  Europe." 
He  replied,  ' '  No  ;  fool  that  I  was,  I  did  not  go  to 
England.  I  had  a  great  desire  to,  but  our  caste 
rules  prevented  it,  and  I  observed  them  to  my  great 


184  DAILY    LIFE    IN    BENGAL. 

detriment.  I  have  put  before  me  an  insurmount- 
able barrier  to  any  further  promotion.  I  have 
wished  a  hundred  times  I  had  gone  in  spite  of 
them  ;  in  fact,  it  is  a  daily  cause  of  regret."  When 
such  a  feeling  becomes  general,  caste  will  go,  just 
as  their  houses  go  after  they  are  all  eaten  up  with 
white  ants.  Only  a  shell  remains,  which  is  ready 
to  crumble  to  pieces. 

Our  army  of  native  helpers  is  a  most  encouraging 
feature  in  the  work.  There  was  a  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  every  mission  when  there  were  no  native 
workers,  and  how  the  hearts  of  the  missionaries 
leaped  for  joy  when  they  got  perhaps  only  one  or 
two,  and  these  of  an  indifferent  quality  ;  but  those 
days  are  past.  Every  mission  has  some,  and  many 
.  missions  many  of  these.  Some  of  them  are  edu- 
cated, talented  men,  and  many  of  them  are  men 
of  zeal  and  deep  piety,  and  would  be  an  honor  to 
any  pulpit  in  any  country.  One  of  our  own  native 
preachers,  Suchie  Dananda  Rai,  I  would  be  proud 
to  put  in  any  pulpit  in  America  if  he  could  use 
English  as  well  as  he  can  Bengali.  In  another 
chapter  I  have  spoken  more  at  length  on  the  differ- 
ent branches  of  Christian  work  carried  on  through 
the  help  of  these  native  agencies.  Our  native 
Christians  are  pushing  themselves  to  the  front,  and 
rt  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  they  will  exert 
a  great  influence  in  the  country.  The  Hindu  must 
be  converted,  or  make  way  for  the  superior  class 
which  is  by  the  power  of  the  gospel  being  raised 
up  out  of  their  midst. 


A  Giunrp  OF  NATIVE  PREACHERS.  ORIYA  AND  BENGALI. 


PRESENTATION  ADDRESS  or  NATIVE  CHRISTIANS  TO  REV.  T.  H.  STACY, 
MISSION  SECRETARY. 


\ 


C- 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


MAY     6  1954 

1   Q  1QCO 


NOV  ^      1941 
NOV  1  4  1341 


Form  L-9-15m-7,'32 


